Riverfront Times December 19, 2018 by Riverfront Times

DECEMBER 19-26, 2018 I VOLUME 42 I NUMBER 51

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THE LEDE

“ You meet a lot of good people. I talked to a lady today, she said she likes to come here because she doesn’t like to go to the box [stores]: ‘I want to come to someplace local.’ And that’s what we tell everybody, ‘Thanks for keeping it local. Thanks for coming back. Thanks for your business.’ They always kid me, ‘Are you gonna be here next year?’ I say, ‘If you don’t see a QuikTrip sitting here I probably will!’”

PHOTO BY THEO WELLING

— Lynn SuLLivan, owner of SuLLivan farmS ChriStmaS treSS, photographed on deCember 16, 2018 riverfronttimes.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Sarah Fenske

E D I T O R I A L Arts & Culture Editor Paul Friswold Music Editor Daniel Hill Digital Editor Jaime Lees Staff Writers Doyle Murphy, Danny Wicentowski Restaurant Critic Cheryl Baehr Film Critic Robert Hunt Editorial Interns Tom Hellauer, Desi Isaacson, Dustin Steinhoff Contributing Writers Mike Appelstein, Allison Babka, Sara Graham, Roy Kasten, Jaime Lees, Joseph Hess, Kevin Korinek, Bob McMahon, Nicholas Phillips, Tef Poe, Christian Schaeffer, Lauren Milford, Thomas Crone, MaryAnn Johanson, Jenn DeRose, Mike Fitzgerald Proofreader Evie Hemphill Cartoonist Bob Stretch

COVER Father’s Keeper After Ken Allen was killed in rural Missouri, prosecutors called it an accident. His daughter fought back

A R T Art Director Evan Sult Contributing Photographers Mabel Suen, Monica Mileur, Micah Usher, Theo Welling, Corey Woodruff, Tim Lane, Nick Schnelle P R O D U C T I O N Production Manager Jack Beil

Written by

DANNY WICENTOWSKI

M U L T I M E D I A A D V E R T I S I N G Sales Director Colin Bell Senior Account Executive Cathleen Criswell, Erica Kenney Account Managers Emily Fear, Jennifer Samuel Multimedia Account Executive Michael Gaines, Christine Knoll, Jackie Mundy Event Coordinator Grace Richards

Cover design by

EVAN SULT

C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Kevin G. Powers E U C L I D M E D I A G R O U P Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP of Digital Services Stacy Volhein Creative Director Tom Carlson www.euclidmediagroup.com

INSIDE The Lede News Feature Calendar

5 8 12 22

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer | Together for Christmas | Nutcracker | The Mercy Holiday Celebration

Film Vice

Cafe

Yellowbelly

27 31

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NEWS

Edmundson Ran Courts Like Debtor’s Prison, Suits Say Written by

DOYLE MURPHY

he City of Edmundson ran its courts and police department like a debtors’ prison, overticketing poor black people and using the terror of jail to squeeze them for high fines and fees, according to a federal lawsuit. The class-action suit was filed on December 12 by lawyers from ArchCity Defenders and Arnold & Porter on behalf of people who have spent years locked in a mazelike municipal court system. “If private parties had created and implemented this scheme, enforced it by threatening and imposing indefinite incarceration, and milked poor families of millions of dollars, the law would punish them as extortionists and racketeers, and the community would take steps to prevent them from exploiting the most vulnerable of its members,” reads the fiery introduction of the suit. Tiny Edmundson, population

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The City of Edmundson trapped people in a cycle of debt and jail, a new lawsuit alleges. | GOOGLE EARTH

830, covers less than a quarter mile of land adjacent to St. Louis Lambert International Airport, but its court still collected more than $2.2 million in revenue between 2012 and 2016, according to state records. It is one of thirteen small north county municipalities previously targeted in a 2016 lawsuit that alleged many of the same abuses. A judge later ruled the suits could go forward but clients would need to file separate cases. This is the sec-

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ond of those suits to be re-filed, following a complaint against Normandy. The two named plaintiffs, 30-year-old Quinton Thomas and 26-year-old Bradley Jiles, claim the city and surrounding cities ganged up on them, burying them in fines and repeatedly jailing them for failing to pay fines they could never afford. Individually, the men picked up traffic tickets for offenses that included invalid license plates and

running a stop sign in Edmundson and neighboring municipalities. The alleged incidents may have seemed minor, but the suit alleges run-of-the-mill tickets quickly spiral in north county. In Thomas’ case, he couldn’t afford to pay a fine from a 2012 ticket in Normandy, leading to a warrant for his arrest. He was stopped two years later in Edmundson for allegedly running a stop light — a charge he denies. Officers ran his name and arrested him. He was held on the Edmundson and Normandy charges for three days in St. Ann, which has a larger jail and often takes inmates from surrounding municipalities. Thomas was told he could pay $150 and get out, but he didn’t have the money, the suit says. After three days, he was technically released but in reality St. Ann just handed him over to officers from St. John, where he had been issued a $100 parking fine at some point. Thomas claims he hadn’t even known about the St. John fine, but he was informed fees had bumped it up to $500. St. John officers threatened to take him to St. Louis County jail if he couldn’t come up with at least $120. He borrowed it from his father and was released. These kinds of ultimatums, made absent of bail hearings, are common, the plaintiffs say. Shortly after his release, he went to Edmundson Municipal Court on the stop sign case and told a judge he couldn’t pay the $300 fine. Edmundson set up a payment plan, Continuevd on pg 9

DEBTOR COURTS Continued from pg 8

Christmas will be a little less merry now that all this weed has been seized. MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL

Christmas Is Canceled After Police Seize 301 Pounds of Weed on I-70 Written by

DANIEL HILL

ans of yuletide festivities and holiday merriment might as well pack it up and find something else to do in late December this year, because after a massive pot bust on I-70 last week, Christmas is officially canceled. The Missouri State Highway Patrol shared a photo on social media Friday morning of a white SUV positively overflowing with Christmas cheer — some 301 pounds of it, wrapped up in bags

and vacuum-sealed with care. According to police, the bust happened in Cooper County, which is in central Missouri near Columbia, about 2 hours and 20 minutes west of St. Louis. Police say they pulled the vehicle over after watching it follow another vehicle too closely. The SUV was traveling east at the time, which can only mean one thing for those of us in St. Louis: Those small-hearted Highway Patrol grinches stole our weed. As tends to be the case in these matters, it didn’t take long for the internet at large to start mercilessly roasting the police for bragging about the bust. While the citizens of Missouri recently voted overwhelmingly in favor of a law legalizing medicinal marijuana in the state, it would seem that the person driving this vehicle absolutely filled to the brim with loose bags of weed maybe didn’t have their paperwork in order. Frankly it’s a testament to their stellar customer service and dedication to making on-time deliveries even in the busy holiday months. Santa himself would be proud. Of the driver, that is, not the police officers. You just know those guys are getting coal this year. n

which included fees and what the suit describes as an “exorbitant” interest rate. The attorneys liken it to a loan shark operation, only worse because small cities like Edmundson trade on their authority as government entities to give the “patina of legitimacy” to what is really extortion. The city preys upon people who can’t afford attorneys and assigns fines without regard for defendants’ ability to pay, a violation of state and federal regulations, the suit says. The complaint notes that Edmundson Mayor John Gwaltney has previously pushed the city’s cops to write more tickets, making a none-too-subtle reference to their paychecks. “I wish to take this opportunity to remind you that the tickets that you write do add to the revenue on which the P. D. budget is established and will directly affect pay adjustments at budget time,” Gwaltney wrote in a 2014 memo to police. Gwaltney was not in the office and the city attorney was not available to comment on the suit, an Edmundson employee told the Riverfront Times. ArchCity says thousands of people have been trapped in seemingly endless court cycles, often getting passed among north county municipalities. Often, they face the same bureaucrats in shifting roles. A prosecutor or city attorney in one municipality may turn up on a different day as a judge in a neighboring city. People with enough money can just pay their fines and move on. But the system is rigged against the poor, whom are often scared even to show up for court because they risk being jailed under terrible conditions if they can’t come up with enough money on the spot, the suit says. “Our clients still struggle to escape the deep poverty caused by the predatory practices of Edmundson and neighboring municipalities,” ArchCity Executive Director Blake Strode said in a news release. “This suit is the latest in a series of cases challenging the underlying systemic abuses that robbed our clients and many others of income, time with family, and their liberty.” n

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t u c e s ro p , ri u o s is M l ra ru in d le il k s After Ken Allen wa

S â&#x20AC;&#x2122; R E H FAT 12

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k c a b t h g u fo r te h g u a d is H t. n e id c tors called it an ac BY DA NN Y WI CE NT OW SK I

2016, Ken Allen was found n the morning of November 3, n, Missouri, his to ng hi as W in om ro ng ni di s dead in hi rds, his stomach and co e on ph th wi ed gti ho s leg d an hands tiles. The medical examed in sta doo bl e th on ng sti re chin he’d been put into a sort of iner would later conclude that st his airways as ain ag g sin es pr nt ila sa as s hi th wrestling hold, wi he choked to death. arged with Ken’s death. ch re we le op pe e re th s, ur ho Within 24 der. Instead, the prosecutor ur m th wi d ge ar ch t no re we But they t, the result of a en cid ac an ow eh m so s wa h at insisted that his de robbery gone fatally wrong. particularly for Ken’s only g, lin zz pu re we se ca e th of The facts but wonder about the signs of lp he ’t dn ul co o wh n, lle Ka , er daught blood at the crime of ol po e th rt, po re e lic po e th a struggle noted in ere was the fact that th en Th . dy bo n’s Ke to s rie ju in scene and the Ken had known the suspects.

The pieces didn’t line up, and and Kallen’s maelstrom of grief ing dur discovery came to a head fercon a meeting in a courthouse nts ence room in 2017, the mome rey retl sec era captured by a cam . atch stw wri ’s len cording from Kal the w kno to t wan “Do you truth?” The question, posed by the county prosecutor to Ken’s sur ir the tter viving family, would sha in sense of equilibrium and beg ice just and h trut Kallen’s quest for for their family. r, According to the prosecuto ile. oph ped a n bee Ken had

orn as Kathy Allen, Kallen (who now uses genderneutral pronouns) was a freshman in college when they came out as gay to

givtheir father during Thanks e thre n, The 0. ing break in 199 In . turn ’s Ken was weeks later, it len, an emotional phone call to Kal t Tha . gay as out e cam he himself and bond would tie the father and daughter together over years tolthe miles, but as Kallen sought nFra San of erant social climate a as s tup star in cisco and a career ed ain rem Ken er, systems engine closeted in Franklin County. And e, though Ken came out to his wif d. rrie ma ain rem to ed opt they Ken had met his future wife, Janet, at Southwest Baptist Univer y itar mil a on sity, and after living ent base during a stateside deploym two the r, Wa m tna during the Vie 5. moved to Franklin County in 197 pro a as eer car ’s Ken re That’s whe bation officer started to take off. About an hour’s drive west of St.

Louis, Franklin County might gen erout the on ced pla be erously nty most exurbs of St. Louis Cou resi ,000 sprawl. The county’s 100 are squ 110 r dents are spread ove ns miles in a handful of tiny tow and on Uni es, citi t and two modes e Washington. Ken made his hom 30 n tha re mo for er in the latt years. ll In Franklin, the rules of sma pre e communities everywher our enc n’t vailed; standing out was ckly qui len Kal aged. Growing up, of figured that out at the hands high in boy a en Wh . school bullies school showed up to class wearing the makeup, Kallen recalls, he “got shit kicked out of him.” Kallen believes that kind of intolerance surrounded and shaped their father from birth. Continued on pg 14

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FATHER’S KEEPER Continued from pg 13

“He was not able to live his truth,” Kallen says today. “He was a baby boomer, grew up on a farm in rural bootheel Missouri and was more or less a public figure in Franklin County. How do you know how to be gay? How do you be an out gay man in such a place? The answer is you don’t.” Not long after moving to Franklin County, Ken was assigned to supervise a newly hired probation officer named Roger Cook. It was the start of a friendship that stretched more than four decades. “He was a very dedicated professional — he seemed to have it together,” Cook says. He remembers Ken as a natural businessman. In the mid-1970s, Cook says, Ken established the area’s first programs designed for defendants with alcohol and drug abuse, and eventually he founded a private treatment company — a rarity for a rural area like Franklin County. Ken’s ambition grew, and in a matter of years he was managing multiple treatment centers and a host of other probation and social services. And in 2000, Ken’s Meramec Recovery Center began handling the treatment requirements for every drugcourt participant in the county. The arrangement continued for more than a decade. But in 2013, the Office of State Courts Administrator terminated its contract with Meramec nine months early, and around that time Ken sold the business to a longtime employee. With his treatment center in new hands and his other businesses largely shuttered, Ken found himself in late-life crisis. In November 2015, Kallen returned to Franklin County for a 25th high school class reunion, only to find Ken a shell of anxious desperation. He stockpiled guns, maintained multiple phones and fretted to friends about the cars with tinted windows that apparently rolled past his home at all hours. His friends’ attempts at intervention were met with vague dismissals. On that trip home, Kallen remembers asking Ken, for what felt like the hundredth time, if he wouldn’t be happier in St. Louis. There, he could experiment with

living openly as a gay man; he could abandon his fear of the small-town rumor mill or what his clients might say. “It didn’t go well,” Kallen says now. He had refused to move, insisting, “This is my home.” When Ken finally offered an explanation for his anxiety, it made Kallen more worried. He claimed

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To friends and family, he claimed the harassment and rumors were only getting worse. And always, somehow, Grellner was behind it. “Grellner had apparently made a statement, ‘We’re going to take care of Ken Allen,’” Cook says, recalling the April conversation with Ken. “That could mean anything, but Ken took it as violence, and a serious threat.” Ken told Cook he’d started carrying a pistol. Cook recalls feeling shaken after his April meeting with Ken. “I really felt sorry for him, the state he was in,” he says. It was the last time the two spoke. Seven months later, Ken was dead.

Growing up, Kallen decided early to flee Franklin County’s intolerance. Ken, though, refused to leave his home. | COURTESY OF ALLEN FAMILY that people were spreading rumors about him, and that he’d been targeted for harassment. He had apparently come home one day to find that someone had poured sugar in the gas tank of his vintage Volkswagen Beetle. But what the harassment and rumors added up to, exactly, Ken never fully explained. Still, Kallen could tell he was obsessing over it, and that it terrified him. Cook, too, remembers a change coming over his friend. Over lunch in April 2016, Cook says Ken complained about a Franklin County Sheriff’s lieutenant named Jason Grellner. Ken claimed Grell-

PREVIOUS PAGE: In Franklin County, Ken Allen was known as a trailblazer in private probation and drug treatment. His violent death altered that legacy. | COURTESY OF ALLEN FAMILY 14

ner was the source of the harassment — and that the cop and others had used subterfuge to snatch away his company’s contract. Later that year, Ken would file suit against Grellner, Franklin County and the competing treatment center awarded the contract over Meramec. The lawsuit accused Grellner of interfering in

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Meramec’s recovery program by pressuring participants to serve as confidential informants. Grellner, the lawsuit alleged, had threatened potential snitches with being dropped from the recovery program unless they helped him build drug cases, and, ultimately, aided his political ambitions as a candidate for county sheriff. Grellner, the suit claimed, had also been “spreading false rumors” about Ken to members of the state board that awarded the contract. By the time Ken filed the lawsuit in August 2016, Grellner had already lost his bid for county sheriff. (Reached by phone, Grellner “completely, 100 percent” denies any wrongdoing.) Still, Ken was set in his paranoia.

lake Crews had been one of Ken’s success stories. In 2008, a drug charge put him in Meramec’s treatment program as a condition of his probation. Coincidentally, he had started a job at Arby’s across the street from Ken’s office. Crews wasn’t one Ken’s immediate clients, but Ken took an interest in his life. For the next five years, Crews worked for the wholesale business Ken owned on the side, functioning as a kind of bodyguard during buying trips to the East Coast and overseas. On November 2, 2016, Crews and Ken shared a beer on the front porch at the older man’s home. But Ken seemed like he was somewhere else. Crews remembers his friend’s eyes repeatedly dropping to his phone to check his texts. By now, Crews knew all about Ken’s fixation on Grellner, and so he asked if the texts were new salvos from the cop. Crews remembers Ken responding vaguely — he said people were gossiping about him being gay and a child abuser. Crews pressed his friend for details and specifics, but Ken never showed him the text messages. Who was feeding him these rumors? Who was he texting? Ken waved the questions off, and the subject was dropped. Crews planned to return to Ken’s house at 7:30 the next morning to help with some furniture he needed to move. “Before I left, he grabbed me on the arm,” Crews recalls. “He said, ‘Hey Blake, if you show up here tomorrow and I’m gone, or something happened to me, I just want you to know, Jason Grellner did it.’”

Ken Allen’s daughter, Kallen, organized protests to oppose the plea deals offered to their father’s alleged killers. | DANNY WICENTOWSKI Crews laughed it off, though Ken’s intensity unnerved him. It wasn’t the first time Ken had made such declarations, and sometimes they came as a kind of joke — Ken poking fun at his own paranoia. The next morning, when Crews knocked on the front door, there was no answer. He went around to the side of the house. Through one of the large windows, Crews glimpsed a lamp overturned on its side, the bare bulb pressed into a couch cushion. Crews returned to the front door and tried the knob, and it turned, unlocked. “I open the door and Ken is right in front of me,” Crews recalls. “His hands behind his back, beat, tied-up, and just looking straight at me, eyes wide open.” Ken had been stripped to his boxers, his chin and lips wet with the blood that pooled around his head. He was dead. In retrospect, little details in the scene stand out to Crews. The seemingly expert knots and loops in the telephone cords binding Ken’s arms and legs, the purple bruises on his neck, the struggle that had knocked down lamps and decorations throughout the room. “The whole scene was gory. It was evil,” Crews says. He felt for a pulse and started

CPR, but the body was already cold and turning blue. Crews couldn’t stop thinking about Grellner and Ken’s final warning. After Crews called 911, officers took him into custody as a potential suspect. Crews was never charged. But the next day, while he was in a protective custody

ies were meant to sustain the trio while they kicked heroin. “They were heroin junkies and shitty people,” Crews says now. “But I didn’t think of them as killers. I didn’t think anybody could get that fucked up, to kill somebody like that.”

Crews felt for a pulse. The body was already cold and turning blue. He couldn’t stop thinking about Ken’s final warning. cell near the jail’s front booking area, he got a glimpse of the three people who were: Timothy Wonish, Whitney Robins and Blake Schindler. As the three were led down the hallway, Wonish spotted Crews in the cell and shouted a greeting — “Stay strong man! Don’t give up! Don’t let them turn you!” Crews remembers being confused. He recognized Wonish and the others because he and Ken had been at their house only a few days before, dropping off groceries. Ken had told him the grocer-

n the aftermath of Ken’s death, Kallen began making regular return trips to Franklin County. The house where Ken had died was gutted and sold at a loss. In lieu of a funeral or memorial service, Ken was simply cremated. His remains now reside in a mason jar in Kallen’s home. The family has yet to organize a memorial service or formal funeral. While still mourning, Kallen started emailing the prosecutor’s office about the case. But even with suspects in custody, the circumstances of Ken’s death didn’t

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add up. “It didn’t make any sense,” Kallen recalls thinking at the time. And like Crews, Kallen couldn’t help but wonder about Ken’s conspiracy theories and his complaints of harassment. Was it ever more than paranoia? Kallen studied Ken’s lawsuit, his allegations against Grellner and the local drug task force. By now, Crews had told the grieving Kallen about Ken’s last words to him, and Kallen couldn’t help but wonder if there was any truth to them. On the other hand, Kallen had to admit that being tied up and suffocated by a trio of dope fiends seemed like a strange tactic for a police hit squad. What evidence existed seemed to suggest robbery. Hours after Ken’s body was discovered on November 3, 2016, Schindler, Wonish and Robins were located in south St. Louis County with nine of the dead man’s credit cards, as well as seven of his checkbooks. In court documents, a Union Police Department detective noted signs of a struggle at the death scene, and that “multiple pieces of property appeared to be missing.” At the time, Robins, 28, was the only one to offer a statement to police. She was dating Wonish, 30, who at that point had a couple

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Continued on pg 16

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After Ken Allen’s death, police arrested (from left) Blake Schindler, Timothy Wonish and Whitney Robins. In October, Wonish and Robins pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. FRANKLIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

FATHER’S KEEPER

Continued from pg 15

of low-level drug charges on his record. Schindler, who is Robins’ half-brother, had just turned seventeen. In a probable-cause document, Robins told police that she’d helped tie Ken’s legs together, and that Schindler and Wonish “had participated in the event.” But in spite of the fact that the suspects left a man dead or dying inside the home, the three were initially charged with felony burglary and receiving stolen items. (Wonish and Robins did not respond to requests at the jail seeking comment. Schindler’s lawyer did not respond to multiple voicemails left at his office.) To Kallen, the picture seemed to indicate more than just robbery. Ken’s death certificate had listed the causes of death as asphyxiation and neck compression. But in a February 2017 phone call, County Prosecutor Robert Parks asserted to Kallen that Ken’s death appeared to be accidental. Parks suggested that one of the suspects may have sat on Ken’s back during the struggle, inadvertently suffocating him as he lay restrained on his stomach. Parks’ explanation — and the lack of murder charges — rankled Kallen. “When you come into my house, our house, and you strangle my dad until he is dead, that doesn’t sound like involuntary manslaughter,” they say. Kallen’s increasing skepticism

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led to the purchase of a wristwatch with a secret video camera built into the face. And when the Allen family met with Parks before a September 2017 court hearing, Kallen hit the record button. At the meeting, Parks explains that he expected Wonish and Robins to plead guilty to an updated set of charges, first-degree burglary and involuntary manslaughter. Footage from Kallen’s camera shows the prosecutor saying that he is “99 percent sure” Schindler will eventually take a plea deal, “but we got to talk him into going back to jail.” Schindler had been allowed to stay on house arrest af-

more closely fits the physical evidence and the scenario that we have,” Parks says. Kallen asks Parks if he recalls the February phone call in which he had claimed that the suspects hadn’t physically strangled or choked their victim, rather that Ken had suffocated “while one of them was sitting on my dad’s back or had his knee in his back.” Parks nods. “That’s right,” he says. Parks was about to realize that he’d been maneuvered into a corner. The day before, Kallen had spoken with (and recorded) the forensic pathologist who per-

“ When you come into my house, our house, and you strangle my dad until he is dead, that doesn’t sound like involuntary manslaughter.” ter a stint in drug treatment earlier that year. On the day of Ken’s murder, Parks tells the family, “these three people were all extremely high on drugs.” And the available evidence, the prosecutor insists, doesn’t support a murder charge. For one thing, the perpetrators are claiming they had been too high to remember the events of that incident. Parks cautions that it could be difficult to prove the element of intent needed for a felony murder charge. “[Involuntary manslaughter]

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formed Ken’s autopsy. The pathologist, Kallen announces to the room, didn’t agree with Parks. “He stated that my dad died from asphyxia from neck compression.” Parks cuts Kallen off, and he snaps, “What’s your question? Let me put it this way, I have made the choice and we’re going to do this.” Kallen won’t have it. “They strangled him,” they say. “They didn’t strangle him,” the prosecutor shoots back. “They sat on his back. I’m not going to sit

here and argue with you.” But Kallen has been waiting for this argument, and begins to pantomime the sort of “wrestling hold” described over the phone by the pathologist. “He died in this position,” Kallen urges. Parks again cuts Kallen off. “I’m not going to argue about this,” he repeats. At this point, Jeff Allen, Ken’s brother, shouts at Parks to let Kallen speak, and the outburst quiets the room for a few moments. Breaking the silence, Ken’s widow, Janet, asks whether the prosecutor’s office had actually tested the suspects for drugs. Was there proof that they were high beyond comprehension at the time of Ken’s death? And finally, the prosecutor breaks. “Do you want to know the truth?” Parks asks Janet Allen. “The truth was your husband was a pedophile.” The room explodes in a chorus of angry rebuttals. “Bullshit!” Kallen says, But Parks pushes through. He says Ken was under investigation for more than two years over patterns of abuse. Though Parks doesn’t mention Grellner by name, he acknowledges later in the recording that the investigation targeting Ken included the Franklin County Sheriff’s narcotics unit, which Grellner commanded. Parks lays out his claims: Ken had “enticed young men to come to his house for sex and then gave them either drugs or money to buy drugs and then let them come back to his house to shoot up.” And, he says, in November 2016, the three suspects went to Ken’s

home with more than robbery in mind. According to Parks, Ken had previously “allowed the brother of one of the people to shoot up in his house and overdose, and Ken had taken him to the hospital.” Parks claims that Wonish, Schindler and Robins had confronted Ken, “to tell him to leave the brother alone.” (That person was apparently Schindler’s elder brother, then eighteen.) Kallen manages to cut into Park’s monologue. What did these allegations have to with Ken’s death? “That’s why I don’t want to try a felony murder,” Parks responds, “because then these people are going up on the stand and they’re going to trash your dad.” Kallen scoffs. “If they murdered him, they gotta go away for longer.” “Well, they’re not,” Parks says as the hidden camera records. “They’re not.”

ore than a year later, Kallen stands beneath the shadow of the Franklin County courthouse in downtown Union, a poster-sized photo of Ken raised in the air. In the image, the soft, golden light from a desk lamp in the background forms a kind of halo above his head. He’s smiling, a drink in one hand, the other presenting a copy of the Dalai Lama’s 1998 book, The Art of Happiness. Kallen wears a T-shirt with the words “Justice For Ken” printed on the front. On the reverse side it reads, “Evil prevails when good people do nothing.” Around twenty protesters are scattered around the sidewalk, some carrying signs of their own. One reads “Ken Allen Was Murdered.” This is the third anti-Parks protest Kallen and the protesters have staged at the courthouse. The demonstrations coincided with Kallen’s nearly year-long attempt to have Parks removed from the case, but that option ran its course. Although Kallen’s petition to boot Parks attracted additional local media coverage and forced multiple delays in the criminal case, it was ultimately rejected. Now, after months of flights between California and Missouri, Kallen prepares to witness Parks’ third attempt at closing a plea deal — a deal allowing Wonish and Robins to plead guilty to a single count of involuntary manslaughter. Today is only the second time Kallen has faced Wonish and Robins in person, and the first time seeing Schindler, who is already

seated in the courtroom when Kallen arrives. Now nineteen, Schindler wears a crisp gray suit over a blue dress shirt and striped tie. Kallen takes a seat and grasps the binder containing a victim impact statement, its words the product of a week’s worth of sleepless nights. Somewhere nearby, Timothy Wonish and Whitney Robins are waiting in holding cells. In 2017, they were allowed to marry in jail. Parks’ office offered Wonish and Robins their first deal in September 2017 — a chance to plead guilty to burglary and involuntary manslaughter. (Schindler, already out on bail, declined to negotiate with the prosecutor’s office.) Under its terms, Wonish and Robins would have faced a maximum of ten years in prison, but there was no mandated minimum sentence. They could qualify for parole after serving just 30 percent of their sentences. In that first plea hearing, Kallen had taken the stand to blast the prosecutor both for presenting the cause of death as an accident and to reject his claim that Ken was a sexual abuser. Kallen’s dad was gay, they revealed to the court, and even if Parks couldn’t tell the difference, that didn’t make Ken a pedophile. Kallen’s passion didn’t go unheeded. One month later, Circuit Court Judge Gael Wood shocked the court’s attendees by rejecting the plea deal offered to Wonish and Robins. “The court finds them too lenient,” the judge said. “I’m not going to accept them.” But Wood subsequently retired, and in January 2018, the case was assigned a new judge. Parks presented a brand-new plea deal to the defendants. To Kallen’s horror, it was even softer than the first. At the January hearing, Wonish and Robins were given the option to plead guilty to receiving stolen property and involuntary manslaughter, a sentence that would give them just seven years in prison. Under the deal, they’d serve the two charges concurrently, and with time served, each would technically be eligible for parole after serving 30 percent of their sentence. That meant they could be eligible for parole as early as 2019. But like his predecessor had done months before for the previous deal, Circuit Court Judge Craig Hellman rejected this one, too, calling it “too lenient.” On October 23, the prosecutor is trying again with a third judge. Continued on pg 19

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FATHER’S KEEPER

Continued from pg 17

Once again, Wonish and Robins are facing what Kallen calls “a sweetheart deal”: a single charge of involuntary manslaughter. The seven-year sentences would again make them eligible for parole in a matter of months. But first up is Blake Schindler. Taking the stand to address Judge Michael Wright, Schindler pleads not guilty. Despite objections from prosecutors and Kallen, Judge Wright allows Schindler to remain free on house arrest. He even grants the teen permission to leave home two hours per day to seek employment, though Schindler must continue to wear a GPS bracelet. Next up is Wonish. Led through a side door in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit, the 32-year-old has grown a long beard since his stubbly 2016 mugshot. Even though Wonish is facing the most favorable plea deal yet, he still has to convince the judge that he’s ready to accept guilt. “What did you do?” Wright asks Wonish. The shackled man responds that he can’t exactly remember the day or incident in question. Wright grumbles and tries again, staring down at Wonish. “Tell me what you did.” Wonish mumbles into the microphone. “I tied up Mr. Allen and left him in the house,” he says. “He was deceased.” Then Wonish attempts to elaborate, adding that it was just him and Robins at Ken’s house, no one else. At this comment, Wright perks up, since Wonish appears to be attempting to exonerate Schindler, the younger co-defendant sitting directly behind him. “Oh,” the judge says, a bemused note in his voice. “Now you remember.” Under further questioning, Wonish claims that he “had been up for a few days” before November 3, and that he only remembers leaving Ken’s house to get more drugs. He testifies several times that no one else was in the house except for himself and Robins. Wright tries again to pry something more specific from Wonish. All he gets are single-word answers. “So, you recklessly caused the suffocation of Ken Allen?” Yes. “So you left him on the floor, tied him up and he suffocated?” Yes.

“Did you grab Mr. Allen around the neck?” No. The judge calls on Parks, and the prosecutor says that the state can prove that Ken was “strangled from behind,” and that the defendants “bound his hands and feet after a struggle and left him for dead in the house.” This time, Parks makes no mention of the theory that someone sat on Ken’s back or that the suffocation was purely accidental. Then it is Kallen’s turn to read their victim impact statement contained in the binder. “The only time I see my dad now is in my nightmares,” Kallen says, addressing Wonish and Schindler

es, is far more specific. “I recklessly caused the death of Ken Allen … by suffocation,” she tells the court. “I tied his feet up … with a cord. I only have memory flashes. I remember Timothy Wonish helping me tie his feet up.” Like Wonish, Robins attempts to adjust her statement — she tells the judge that only she and Wonish committed the crime. That’s even though she’s already on the record saying that her half-brother, Schindler, was at the scene as well. Judge Wright asks if she is trying to protect her brother. “No. I’m aware of what I said,” Robins tells the judge. She claims she can’t re-

at trial. Even if Robins attempts to retract her 2016 statement to police implicating Schindler, Kallen believes video footage from the house’s surveillance system will put the matter to rest. Still, the defense may dredge up exactly the sort of information about Ken that Parks claimed he was striving to suppress — that Ken was fueling Schindler’s and others’ drug addictions. Those claims appear to contain some elements of truth. Ken’s friends knew of his attempts at “helping” Schindler and the others beat their drug addiction, and they acknowledge that they advised him that his relationship with much younger drug addicts was, at best, unseemly — particularly when he was suing the highest-profile anti-drug warrior in the region. And those same friends acknowledge that Ken’s generosity had a compulsive quality that verged on selfabuse. “He wanted to help anybody and everybody,” says Jimmy Dyer, who became one of Ken’s probation clients following a DWI in 2005. Ken had given Dyer a job painting houses, and over the next decade a friendship blossomed. But around 2014 Dyer had decided he had to stop coming by Ken’s house. The issue was a heroin addict whom Ken claimed to be helping, a shifty character in his late twenties. The guy made a habit of showing up at Ken’s house and office begging for cash or favors. Dyer says Ken paid the addict’s rent and living expenses. Yet Ken’s yard tools and appliances still seemed to be disappearing. Ken seemed unable to confront reality, even when he had to buy back the items the young man and his friends had pawned. “He was constantly getting robbed [by them] and it didn’t seem to bother him,” Dyer says of Ken. “He would tell me, ‘These guys are clean, they’re OK.’ And then the next day he would tell me, ‘Well, this guy just OD’d in my bathroom and I had to bring him back to life.’” Asking Ken to explain himself was rarely fruitful. Sunny Lim, one of Ken’s business partners who cofounded a wholesale garden and home supply business in the mid2000s, says Ken would often describe the woeful circumstances afflicting the young men he was trying to help. There were tales of family abuse, untreated mental illness and desperate poverty. “It was his nature,” Lim says. “If someone came to him in trouble,

“Mr. Parks,” Kallen says at one point, turning to the seated prosecutor. “Were you relieved after my dad was murdered?” directly. “Did you guys burst the door and rush him? How much terror did you put him in? Your evil faces are the last thing he saw on Earth.” It is not just Ken’s killers in Kallen’s crosshairs. “Mr. Parks,” Kallen says at one point, turning to the seated prosecutor. “Were you relieved after my dad was murdered?” At this comment, the air seems to retreat from the room. Parks coughs and rises to object. “This is not an impact statement!” he complains to the judge. “This is a vendetta against my office.” The judge asks Kallen to stick to the bounds of a victim impact statement, but after a pause the statement continues on track — with a fusillade against Parks. Kallen raises various examples of the prosecutor’s failings — and suggests he lied about Ken being a pedophile. “Mr. Parks,” Kallen says, staring directly at the prosecutor, “you intentionally tried to mislead this court and mislead me, to make me compliant, and to shut me up so you could benefit these three defendants in their plea.” Kallen adds, “You misjudged me, Bob Parks. I am Ken Allen’s daughter.” The court is silent as Kallen leaves the stand. Next comes Whitney Robins, her hair long and blonde, her jumpsuit matching her husband’s. Robins’ guilty plea, while halting and interrupted by regular paus-

member making the statement to police. “That’s a blank spot in my head.” In her flashes of memory, what she does remember are scenes of Ken kicking his bare feet and she and Wonish tying him in up with a telephone cord, she says. Then the memories skip to the hospital where she was transported after the arresting officers realized she was suffering an overdose. Under the judge’s grilling, Robins repeatedly insists she doesn’t know how or why Ken suffocated. Maybe, she theorizes at one point, she climbed on top of Ken for leverage while tying his feet together — or maybe that was Wonish, or even someone else she can’t remember. She repeats, “I’m sorry, all I have are flashes of memory.” In the end, Judge Wright relents. He accepts both guilty pleas, adding the maximum possible fine, $5,000, to go along with their single felony charges for involuntary manslaughter. Kallen moves toward the aisle to leave but shouts two words, loud enough for the room to hear: “Evil prevails.”

here’s still no clear answer as to whether the death of Ken Allen was murder or, as Parks has argued, the accidental byproduct of a robbery gone bad. Physical evidence from the scene remains sealed pending Schindler’s trial. It’s also not clear what tactics Schindler’s legal team may take

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Continued on pg 20

RIVERFRONT TIMES

Before his death, friends of Ken’s worried that he was being exploited by a group of drug addicts. He insisted he was helping them recover. COURTESY OF ALLEN FAMILY.

FATHER’S KEEPER Continued from pg 19

he wanted to do something to relieve whatever problem they were facing.” Jennifer Lagerhausen, who worked for Ken for fifteen years before buying one of his other side businesses, suggests that Ken may have seen the young men the same way he viewed drug-court participants, as potential success stories in the making. “He helped a lot of kids in the past, and they would come back and visit and say thanks,” she says. “No matter how bad things got, that pushed him.” According to his friends and coworkers, Ken provided financial support to at least five drugaddicted individuals over the final two years of his life, including the trio implicated in his death. None were underage, though they were far from Ken’s peers. (Of the five, seventeen-year-old Schindler and his eighteen-year-old brother were the youngest.) To his friends, Ken’s unwillingness to acknowledge the addicts

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nodding off in his living room seemed like uncharacteristic naivete. After all, he’d worked around addicts for decades and knew their patterns of manipulation and empty promises. (“He knew everything there was to know about addiction,” Crews says.) Ken’s friends wondered if he was depressed or perhaps so crushed by loneliness that he would allow himself to be exploited and lied to. But to the county government that had only recently contracted with Ken’s drug treatment company, it may have looked far more nefarious, and perhaps likely that Ken knew exactly what he was doing. At the very least, it was a tawdry arrangement for a 70-year-old man. Citing the upcoming trial — and the fact that he may be called as a witness — Lt. Jason Grellner declines to discuss his knowledge of the police investigation into Ken’s allegedly abusive behavior. But when it comes to Schindler’s trial, Grellner predicts Ken’s actions will make the prosecutor’s job harder. “If all the information comes out at trial about his abuse of position,” Grellner says, “what does

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that do to a jury?”

lake Schindler’s trial, scheduled to begin next month, is set to start just weeks before Wonish and Robins become eligible to make their case to a parole board for early release. By then, Parks will have retired, and the case will fall to incoming Franklin County Prosecutor Matthew Becker, a former cop. But in his final weeks in office, Parks still found a way to throw a new curve ball into the case. On November 27, the prosecutor filed a superseding indictment against Schindler, which included a new charge for second-degree murder. A conviction would carry a 30-year prison term and a mandatory minimum sentence of 85 percent. It was exactly the charge Kallen had asked for in previous meetings with Parks. Yet the development is not cause for celebration; Kallen considers it both too late and too meager, and it raises the question of why Robins and Wonish were allowed to plead to involuntary manslaughter at all. “Why in the fuck weren’t Won-

ish and Robins re-indicted too?” Kallen asks. To Kallen, the murder charge against Schindler comes after two years of misery in the legal system. It doesn’t change the brutality of their father’s death or alter the fact that what was once a childhood home was transformed into what Kallen now calls “the house of murder.” Kallen acknowledges that Schindler’s future trial may uncover a darker side of what had seemed to be Ken’s self-destructive sense of goodwill. But even if he had inappropriate relationships with local drug addicts, it doesn’t change Kallen’s feelings about his killing. Kallen also questions the legitimacy of the investigation Parks described in the recording of the 2017 meeting. “Whatever sources are making these claims, I’m going to question their motivation,” Kallen says. “And even if some of these things are true, does that mean he deserved to be murdered?” The trial is far from the only thing that torments Kallen about their father. Kallen thinks about him growing up on a farm and realizing he was gay, building a business in Franklin County and a life on a foundation of secrets. Kallen thinks of Ken’s decision to remain married, even after coming out to his wife, and then the years spent worrying about his reputation and what people were saying behind his back. To Kallen, it seems clear that the very homophobia Ken experienced in Franklin County lives on in the heart of Parks’ allegations and soft plea deals. It’s a strange, vile irony: The homophobia that kept Ken scared and isolated in life — and drove Kallen to flee to California — has reached him in death, with Parks robbing him of his legacy as a pioneer in drug treatment and casting him as a pedophile who preyed on drug addicts. That’s not who Ken was, his daughter insists. And no matter what Parks’ plea deals or indictments read, Kallen is certain that Wonish, Schindler and Robins murdered him. There is a second tragedy. Trapped in Franklin County, Ken had already been suffering for a long, long time. Kallen believes he lived scared of the area’s homophobia, and in the end that fear won out. He was never able to live his truth. “It’s a frustrating mystery for me, to figure out my dad,” Kallen muses. “He kept so silent about who he really was, and he hid it. I believe it got him killed.” n

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

CALENDAR

BY PAUL FRISWOLD

Christmas is in trouble, but Rudolph’s on the way. | © AND™ UNDER LICENSE TO CHARACTER ARTS, LLC

FRIDAY 12/21 Schastlivogo Rozhdestva

Those Classical Carols

If you believe Cold War propaganda, Soviet Russia was a godless, dreary society that would sacrifice any number of human lives for another tractor. While that may have been true of the ruling powers, Russian artists of all types supported a broadly humanistic worldview, albeit disguised in the Communist trappings. Christ Smentkowski opens a window on the old Russia with an evening of Soviet Era Christmas Animations. The majority of the films are kid-friendly, and the animation is often striking. Sure, St. Nicholas may deliver his gifts via rocket instead of a reindeerdrawn sleigh, but the spirit of the holiday is undimmed. Films start at 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 21, at Flood Plain (3151 Cherokee Street; www.floodplaingallery. org). Admission is free, but if you wish to offer a goodwill donation, the money will go to the gallery.

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The St. Louis Symphony’s main gig is classical music, of course, but the best big band in town dabbles in so-called “popular” music from time to time. Christmas, with its carols and standards, is just such a time. The Mercy Holiday Celebration is a long-standing tradition, complete with the songs of the season, a beautifully decorated Powell Hall and soprano Camille Zamora. Conductor Gemma New leads the combined St. Louis Symphony and Holiday Festival Chorus through the songs of the season at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (December 21 to 23) at Powell Hall (718 North Grand Boulevard; www.slso.org). Santa Claus will be in attendance as well; tickets are $28 to $73.

SATURDAY 12/22 Reindeer Games These last few days before Christ-

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mas are the toughest for kids, and their parents. Time slows down for the kids, which makes them more anxious, and louder. The best thing for everyone is usually to get out of the house and do something. In your hour of need, Rudolph will guide you. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the musical adaptation of the long-running TV special, stars all your favorite characters as they come together to make Christmas happen. Performances are at 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday (December 22 to 23) at the Fox Theatre (527 North Grand Boulevard; www.fabulousfox.com). Tickets are $25 to $75.

Carol On When BandTogether first began in 1997, it was as a ten-person ensemble. Twenty-one years later, St. Louis’ LGBTQA concert band has more than 100 active musicians and is a cultural mainstay. BandTogether’s annual holiday concert is the highlight of its season. This year’s program is called Together for Christmas, and the group will fill the 560 Center (560 Trinity Avenue, University City;

www.bandtogetherstl.com) with the strains of “White Christmas,” “Westminster Carol” and “Fantasia on Silent Night,” among others. As always, the concert starts at 8 p.m. and admission is free.

SUNDAY 12/23 Leave No Nut Uncracked You’re not going to believe it, but we found one last Nutcracker. The Bolshoi Ballet will perform its grandiose version of the Tchaikovsky ballet in Moscow, and Fathom Events will capture the performance live and broadcast it to America at 11:55 a.m. Sunday, December 23, at the Marcus Wehrenberg Des Peres 14 Cine (12701 Manchester Road, Des Peres; www.fathomevents.com). In the Russian version, a little girl named Marie awakes on Christmas Eve to find her dolls have come to life and are threatened by a malevolent Mouse King. But Marie has a friend in this strange world. The Nutcracker Prince saves her and swoops her away to a world of

WEEK OF DECEMBER 20-26 dancing snowflakes and candy. Tickets for the broadcast are $15.

TUESDAY 12/25 Christmas Is Felt Did all your plans fall through and now you’re alone on Christmas? Are you one of the soldiers in the war against Christmas and need a safe haven from the front lines? The Moolah Theatre (3821 Lindell Boulevard; www.stlouiscinemas. com/moolah) has your back. The bar will be playing nothing but Muppets into the night, which might be the best gift of all. Share your loneliness with Gonzo, Fozzie and the rest of the gang; if nothing else, Kermit will give you a soft, sloped shoulder to cry on. Admission is free.

WEDNESDAY 12/26 Beer Bash

The Bolshoi Ballet’s Nutcracker. DAMIR YUSUPOV

Think back to 1991: Do you remember the beer you were drinking then? Most likely it was the same thing year-round, and it either came from Anheuser-Busch or maybe one of the other big breweries. At the time it was beyond crazy to think a handful of St. Louisans could get together a business plan and open a competing brewery a few blocks from the A-B mothership. Dan Kopman, Tom Schlafly and their

staff of fellow visionaries beat the doubters and established the first craft brewery in town. Every year Schlafly celebrates its “annibeer-versary” by dropping prices down to what they were in 1991 at the Schlafly Tap Room (2100 Locust Street; www.schlafly.com) and Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Avenue, Maplewood). Admission is free, and both locations will have full menus and live music all day long. n

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New Year’s Eve 2018 A guide to all the excitement Family-Friendly New Year’s Eve The rink opens at noon for ice skating and the party begins at 4 p.m. with children’s characters, performers, giveaways, hot chocolate and an early New Year’s Eve countdown culminating with fireworks at 8 p.m. Mon., Dec. 31, 4 to 8 p.m., free admission. Kiener Plaza, 500 Chestnut St, St. Louis.

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Irish New Year’s at Pat’s The tradition continues with the fourth annual Irish New Year’s Toast. 6 p.m. in St. Louis is midnight in Ireland, so celebrate early. Tickets include complimentary Jameson, a Guinness toast with collectible glass, and live Irish music on both floors. Limited general admission and VIP tickets available. Mon., Dec. 31, 4 to 11:45 p.m., $10, 314-647-7287, kate@ patconnollytavern.com, www.facebook. com/events/1368370613298402/. Pat Connolly Tavern, 6400 Oakland Ave., St. Louis.

Black Tie Dinner & Dance Party The first annual Black & Gold New Year’s Eve Dance Party is happening at Dance Pizazz Ballroom, O’Fallon’s newest dance venue. Live music from Rhythm of the Nite, food catered from Madison’s Cafe, open bar, party favors, balloon drop and Champagne toast at midnight. Doors open at 7 p.m. $100 for general; $110 for VIP. Dance Pizazz, 6722 State Highway N, St. Charles. 636-441-6854, nikki@dance-pizazz.com.

Casino Queen Rings in the New Year Guests enjoy a specialty buffet, a DJ on the casino floor, a countdown to midnight with party favors, photo opportunities with Vegas showgirls and giveaways to Las Vegas every hour. Mon., Dec. 31, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., www.casinoqueen.com/ stlouis/promotions/. Casino Queen, 200 S. Front St., East St. Louis, 618-874-5000.

Drunken Fish New Year’s Eve Party Choose from the late-night party package with premium open bar, DJ, appetizer and sushi bar and midnight toast from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., or the four-course dinner from

4 p.m. to midnight. Mon., Dec. 31. The Drunken Fish-Central West End, 1 Maryland Plaza, St. Louis, 314-367-4222.

Evangeline’s ‘70s Style New Year’s Eve Welcome to the ‘70s with an open bar, groovy cocktails, Champagne toast, live bands and special ‘70s-themed dinner buffet. Mon., Dec. 31. Evangeline’s, 512 N Euclid Ave, St. Louis, 314-367-3644.

Johnny’s West NYE Celebration Enjoy cold drinks, good food and music by SUPERJAM. Only $5 at the door. Free valet parking, free Champagne. Music and fun last until 1 a.m. Mon., Dec. 31. Johnny’s West, 12068 Dorsett Rd, Maryland Heights, 314-736-5646.

New Queer’s Eve III Dress to transgress, with performances by Maxi Glamour, Klaude, Kingdom, James Bøndāge, Phanta Gorea, Sweet Tea Skank and Vinca Minor. DJs Skeletal and Contortion bring the best in Industrial, Goth, EBM and more. Mon., Dec. 31, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., $5 prior to the event, $10 at the door., 314-621-6900, gutterglittertillyoudie@gmail.com, www.facebook. com/events/498230960672580/. The Crack Fox, 1114 Olive St., St. Louis.

New Year’s Eve Cruise Ring in the New Year in style with dinner, dancing and breathtaking views of the St. Louis skyline. Featuring a threecourse dinner, open bar, DJ entertainment and a midnight Champagne toast. 21 and older. Mon., Dec. 31, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., $99, 877-982-1410, info@gatewayarch.com, www.gatewayarch.com/ experience/riverboat-cruises/specialtycruises/. Gateway Arch Riverboats, 11 N. 4th St., St. Louis.

Mollys in Soulard NYE Party Enjoy New Year’s Eve on St. Louis’ largest patio with seven open bars, DJs, dancing, two balloon drops, Champagne toasts, party favors, VIP buffets and VIP reserved tables and cabanas, plus a light show. Sold out ten years and counting, so get your tickets now. Mon., Dec. 31, 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. GA $75; VIP

$95. 314-241-6200 x5, jessica@mollysinsoulard.com, www.facebook.com/ events/474152503107339/. Mollys in Soulard, 816 Geyer Ave., St. Louis.

New Years Eve Bash Celebrate at a hotel and enjoy brunch the next day. Four plans to choose from and entertainment all night until 1 a.m. Mon., Dec. 31, 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., $70-$215, 314-726-5400, nicole.bieser@cpclayton. com, www.cpclayton.com/specials-packages-en.html. Clayton Plaza Hotel, 7750 Carondelet Ave., Clayton.

New Year’s Eve Dinner The Ritz-Carlton will celebrate the arrival of 2019 with a five-course meal (vegetarian selections available upon request) and Champagne toast. Mon., Dec. 31, 5 to 9 p.m., $149, excluding beverage, tax, gratuity. The Grill at the Ritz-Carlton, 100 Carondelet Plaza, Clayton, 314-863-6300. New Year’s Eve Speakeasy Soiree Celebrate the new year Prohibitionstyle. Enjoy a premium open bar, hors d’oeuvres, DJ and a midnight toast. Mon., Dec. 31, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. 612North Event Space and Catering, 612 N. 2nd St., St. Louis, 314-899-0612.

NYE 2019 Ballroom Bash Alton’s Best Western Premier presents the band Flatliner, an open bar, appetizer buffet, party favors and Champagne toast at midnight. Mon., Dec. 31, 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., $65. 618-4621220, bwpremieralton.com/event/bestwestern-premier-presents-flatliner-fornye-2019/. Best Western Premier Alton, 3559 College Avenue Alton, Illinois.

Roaring ‘20s New Year’s Eve Dress as your favorite ‘20s icon for a party with a premium open bar, the Jesse Gannon Experience and DJs Gary Mac and Marc Buxton. Champagne toast at midnight plus a midnight surprise. Mon., Dec. 31, 8 p.m., $100-$1,150. Angad Arts Hotel, 6550 Samuel Shepard Dr, St. Louis, 314-561-0033.

Russo’s NYE Bash at Spazio Westport Featuring live music in two separate rooms by All Mixed Up Band & Allegro DJ, six-hour full open premium bar, passed appetizers, four-course dinner, gourmet dessert stations, food truck midnight snack, Trotter photo booth and more. Hotel accommodations available. Mon., Dec. 31, 7 p.m.-1 a.m., $90, 314-576-0400, emily@russosgourmet.com, russosgourmet.com/nye/. Spazio at Westport, 12031 Lackland, Maryland Heights.

Burlesque 2019 Extravaganza Four-course dinner, the hottest burlesque

show in town, an open premium bar, confetti cannon launch with Champagne toast at midnight. Mon., Dec. 31, 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., $100-$200, 314-436-7000, theboomboomroomstl@gmail.com, theboomboomroomstl.com/new-yearseve-2019/. The Boom Boom Room, 500 N. 14th St., St. Louis.

Spectaculaire New Year’s Eve Van Ella Productions presents a masquerade ball featuring circus, variety and burlesque performers from around the country and the sounds of the Spectaculaire Orchestra, plus a DJ playing top-40 hits. Wandering characters, sideshow performers, a fortune teller, Champagne toast, balloon drop, and midnight buffet. Masks are encouraged. Mon., Dec. 31, 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., $45-$350, 314.384.2532, vanellatickets@gmail.com, www.vanellastudios.com. Casa Loma Ballroom, 3354 Iowa Ave, St. Louis.

360 Rooftop’s New Years Eve Party Ring in 2019 high above the streets of St. Louis from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. with a premium open bar, buffet from 9 to 11 p.m., fireworks, Champagne toast, roaming performers, DJ Chris Brown and latenight snacks after midnight. All-inclusive $150 tickets can be purchased through PayPal at 360-stl.com/events. (After purchase, if you are planning to come as a group but are purchasing tickets individually, please contact Amber at abrda@360-stl.com or call at 314-6418842 to sit together.) Mon., Dec. 31, 9 p.m.-1 a.m., $150, 314-641-8842, www.360-stl.com/events. Three Sixty St. Louis, 1 S. Broadway, St. Louis.

New Years Eve Ball Three ticket packages available. Two include a open bar, draft beers, wine and a variety of mixers and soft drinks and a plated dinner. General admission provides access to the party in the ballrooms just after dinner. Contagious will play a mix of pop-rock and the best classic rock hits, while Boyfriend plays ’80s songs & more. Mon., Dec. 31, 7 p.m. to 12:45 a.m., $100-$349, Clubcontagious@sbcglobal.net, www.contagiousparty.com/. Marriott St. Louis Airport, 10700 Pear Tree Lane, St. Louis, 314-423-9700.

Ultimate New Year’s Eve Party All-inclusive celebration with live music, gourmet buffet dinner, open bar, a Champagne toast and balloon drop at midnight. Live music from the Number One Party Band. 21 or older. Mon., Dec. 31, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Party-only tickets start at $169; hotel packages start at $379. 314-655-1234, www.hyatt.com/ en-US/hotel/missouri/hyatt-regency-stlouis-at-the-arch/stlrs/news-events. Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch, 315 Chestnut St., St. Louis. n

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

DECEMBER 19 - 26, 2018

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FILM

[REVIEW]

Hail to the Chief’s Chief Adam McKay and Christian Bale turn Dick Cheney into a Shakespearean villain in the hugely inventive Vice Written by

ROBERT HUNT Vice Written and directed by Adam McKay. Starring Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell. Opens Christmas Day.

he position of Vice President of the United States is often seen as a dead end to a political career, a semi-honorary title whose bearer maintains high public visibility while simultaneously performing a disappearing act. Few Vice Presidents relished their obscurity as much as Dick Cheney, whose eight years in office made him both one of the most disliked and most powerful men ever to hold his job. Vice Presidents rarely lead the kind of life that lends itself to stage or screen; the ingenious new film Vice reveals Cheney (like Alexander Hamilton) to be an exception. Writer-director Adam McKay tells Cheney’s story from his drunken college days through his service to four administrations and up to his current period of retirement. Along the way, it provides a sharp lesson on the changing nature of executive power in the last four decades. Did I mention that it’s a comedy? McKay is best known for his partnership with Will Farrell as writer and director of comedies like Anchorman and Talladega Nights, but a sly political activism often lurks behind his work, as in Farrell’s 2010 buddy-cop comedy The Other Guys, where he used the end credits to provide an animated guide to subjects like Bernie Madoff and the cost of the government’s Wall Street bailout. In 2015’s The Big Short, a comic explanation of the subprime mortgages and the 2007

Dick Cheney and George Bush (Christian Bale and Sam Rockwell) back when Cheney ran the world. | MATT KENNEDY/ANNAPURNA PICTURES 2018 © mortgage crash, the story was often interrupted so that economic ideas could be explained by the likes of Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez. Vice takes the satirical didacticism of The Big Short and quadruples it, using a grab bag of cinematic tricks — montage, false endings and an occasional onscreen commentator who takes the concept of the unreliable narrator to an extreme — to show Cheney’s rise to power, and to analyze what it means. It’s smart, caustic and bitterly funny. McKay has done his homework, but he doesn’t let his political points step on his punchlines (or vice versa). The result is a powerfully inventive satire, a political film like no other. Many filmmakers and dramatists have tried to recreate contemporary or near-contemporary events, but the results seldom rise above the level of political cartoons. (Think of Oliver Stone’s forgettable W, in which Cheney was played by Richard Dreyfuss, or almost any episode of Saturday Night Live from the last 40 years.) Vice, like most of those works, offers a parade of performers recreating familiar faces, but mostly avoiding simple caricature. Christian Bale is excellent as Cheney, combin-

Vice presents Dick Cheney as an architect of the system that sought to give unlimited power to the Presidency, which he then usurped. ing Raging Bull-like physical commitment (he reportedly gained 40 pounds for the film) with a profound understanding of the ruthlessness of his character. Amy Adams is equally astonishing as his Machiavellian wife Lynne, while Steve Carell lends a kind of blithe, bumbling innocence to Cheney’s mentor/foil Donald Rumsfeld. McKay presents Cheney as an architect of the system that sought to give unlimited power to the Presidency, which he then usurped. This leads to the never-ending cycle of war and crisis that began in the first Bush presidency (Naomi Wolf’s famous “Shock Doctrine”) and culminated in the pervasive

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winning-is-everything philosophy of our current politics. McKay sees Cheney and his wife (who is complicit in his worst impulses) as Shakespearean figures. They are as greedy and scheming as the Macbeths but unconstrained by the customs of royalty — but McKay abruptly plays it down as a joke once the point is made. While McKay covers a wide array of political events and ideas, he does not lose sight of the human aspects of the story. The political and historical turmoil are carefully surrounded by the details of Cheney’s family life. His marriage to the equally ambitious Lynne, the subsequent public career of daughter Elizabeth (currently a U.S. Representative), and, most tellingly, his relationship with his openly gay daughter Mary, whose coming out was originally seen as a political liability. In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, McKay plays a prank on the viewer that also sets in place one of the film’s more devastating themes, the conflict between the grasping for power and what most people would define as basic human decency. How, the film asks, does the relentless pursuit of power change a man? What does it do to his personal life, his very spirit? The answer isn’t pretty. n

DECEMBER 19 - 26, 2018

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AS M T S I R H OPENNECW YEARS &

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CAFE

[REVIEW]

Born to Rum With captivating cocktails and a terrific Hawaiian-inspired menu, Yellowbelly will sweep you to sea Written by

CHERYL BAEHR Yellowbelly 4659 Lindell Boulevard, 314-881-5759. Mon.Tues. 4-10 p.m.; Wed.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4-11 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4-10 p.m.

ellowbelly bills itself a sea-inspired affair, a mystique perfectly captured in its “Oysters and Pearls” appetizer. Shrouded in a thick, swirling fog of liquid nitrogen, the oysters appear at the table as if they have been conjured there by a benevolent sea goddess. The cloud slowly lifts, revealing six shimmering Kumamoto oysters. Each is adorned with several pea-sized “pearls” of mouth-puckering cocktail sauce; when the miniature ice spheres pop, they gently melt on the tongue, wrapping the creamy oyster in piquant refreshment. The experience is more enrapturing than a siren song. Much has changed for co-owners Travis Howard and Tim Wiggins over the last six years, the least of which might be presiding over a restaurant that serves a whimsical masterpiece like the “Oysters and Pearls.” When the pair met around 2012, they were far from the restaurateur and acclaimed bartender that they are today. Back then, Howard was managing Baileys’ Range and hired Wiggins, who had almost zero restaurant experience, to do basic support work. Among his jobs? Scooping ice cream. As their work relationship turned into a friendship, Howard confided in Wiggins about his dream to open a restaurant of his own. When those dreams began to morph into reality, Howard asked Wiggins, who was by then a bartender, to help him develop and open the restaurant that would become Retreat Gastropub. The restaurant opened without

“Oysters and Pearls” arrives in a mysterious shroud of fog, part of Yellowbelly’s sometimes abstractly Hawaiian-inspired menu. | MABEL SUEN fanfare in the fall of 2015 — but quickly gained both popular and critical acclaim, becoming a Central West End mainstay. And it wasn’t just Howard’s vision that made Retreat so successful; the entirely self-taught Wiggins has shot to the top of the city’s cocktail scene, garnering national recognition for both his mixology skills and hospitality focus. What a difference three years makes. No longer the new kids on the block, Howard and Wiggins were aware of the high expectations surrounding their sophomore effort, so they took pains to make sure they got it right. Their first step was nailing the concept. Wiggins, who has a passion for rum, had a clear vision of the cocktail menu he wanted to create: a modern rum bar that brought the tiki drinks popularized in the 1960s and ’70s into the present day. The key, and something he and Howard had not seen on their research and development trips, was making sure they did not go down a kitschy path paved with grass skirts and ceramic glass heads. The design element of the space, and the branding, helped set a

more modern, stylish tone. Located in the new, ultra-sleek Citizen Park building on the corner of Lindell and Euclid, the restaurant has the feel of a boutique hotel in present-day Waikiki. Floor-toceiling glass on two sides of the restaurant fills the open, L-shaped room with light. Industrial metal accents pair with blonde wood, black leather and a shiny, white marble-topped bar to create a modern scene. Alone, these details could provide the canvas for any restaurant. Here, however, they are imbued with a distinctive point of view by prominent features including turquoise tile, a wall-sized mural in shades of blue, white and yellow, and a handful of well-placed plants that evoke palm trees. You might call the aesthetic “modern Hawaiian chic,” but Yellowbelly is not a Hawaiian restaurant. Instead, it takes the 50th state as a jumping-off point for both its aesthetic and several of its dishes. Tuna poke, for instance, pairs ruby-colored cubes of the raw fish with creamy avocado. Both are tossed in a soy dressing and accented with small slivers of

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pineapple. The fruit cuts through the meaty fish, wrapping the dish in tropical refreshment. Spam-and-crab-fried rice, offered as a standalone side dish or an accompaniment to some of Yellowbelly’s entrees, is another well-executed play on a Hawaiian staple. Hunks of the processed pork and succulent crab meat infuse the moist, well-seasoned rice with salt, sea and fat. A whisper of black pepper warms the back of the throat like this rice warms the soul. Most of Yellowbelly’s menu, however, is less about Hawaiian cuisine than seafood in general. Deviled crab fritters present the shellfish suspended in fried, cloudlike poufs. The light-as-air fritters dazzle on their own, but when paired with a tangy passionfruit mustard (think honey mustard on a Pacific getaway), they are otherworldly. A fiery shrimp appetizer, offered off the menu on one visit, proved a highlight. Garlic and flour coat the tender shellfish, which are then pan-fried and soaked in a chile-spiked garlic-butter sauce. I

DECEMBER 19 - 26, 2018

Continued on pg 33

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YELLOWBELLY Continued from pg 31

hope it will become a regular offering. Our server described the “Sea Biscuits” as Yellowbelly’s take on Red Lobster’s beloved “Cheddar Bay” biscuits — a bold statement considering that one of life’s guiltiest pleasures is dipping those cheesy wonders in all-you-caneat scampi butter. Here, they are more complex, enriched with the deep, sea flavor of uni-infused butter. Flecks of green onion add an herbal punch. I can’t say they are better than the original, but they are certainly more sophisticated. Playfully named “Wu Tang Clams” are prepared in a warm, wine-spiked broth that is light in texture but full of rich shellfish flavor. Portuguese sausage adds notes of garlic and spice. The kitchen proves adept at cioppino as well; this Thai-influenced version of the seafood stew has a tangy, tomato base up front that softens into sweet, coconut milk richness. Tender shellfish bobs in the rich, though slightly salty, nectar. The one miss on the seafood front were the octopus tacos.

The meat was tender but had a fishy taste that was exacerbated by spicy harissa sauce and chorizo. The fish sandwich, a generous portion of battered white fish served on brioche, is a far superior offering. Pickled daikon and crispy cabbage slaw top the buttery, fried fish, offering a refreshing counter to the searing hot filet. Yellowbelly proves equally skilled at its non-seafood offerings. As if the thick, well-seasoned beef patty that makes up the “Big Kahuna Burger” isn’t enough, the kitchen tops it with a slab of pork belly. The fat from the pork renders over the burger, forming a decadent glaze that is mercifully cut with vinegary sweet pickles. Meanwhile, a skirt steak marinated in a sugar, soy and garlicforward Korean barbecue sauce is as outstanding as the restaurant’s best fish dishes. I can’t decide which is a better use of that delectable marinade — as a glaze for the meat that forms a sweetand-salty crust when grilled, or as a dipping sauce for the accompanying beef-fat French fries after it mixes with the steak’s juices and pools on the plate. Both are magnificent. The fries can be ordered as a side dish, though if you prefer

something green, the Brussels sprouts are a worthy choice. The charred green spheres, accented with crispy bits of pork belly, have a complex, funky undertone that tastes like fish sauce and five spice. I preferred them to the charred carrots. Something about the mix of the blackened veggies, the chimichurri and eel sauce gave the dish an acerbic taste. The chicken wings, another off-the-menu special, erased that unpleasantness. The chicken is coated in a thick, black-peppery breading that soaks in the sweet, garlic glaze. Several years ago, a now-shuttered Vietnamese restaurant called Mi Linh was serving some of the best chicken wings in town. These evoke their glory. Much credit for the food side of Yellowbelly goes to Richard Blais, a celebrity chef who brings with him the renown of Top Chef and, more importantly to Howard and Wiggins, the experience working with seafood that they needed for the restaurant. Blais, who spends most of his time in California, developed the menu and is in regular contact with the team; his longtime collaborator, chef Kate Wagoner, runs the restaurant’s kitchen. However, the real star of Yellow-

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belly is Wiggins, whose beautiful, modern tiki cocktails anchor the concept. Divided into two main categories, “Old School” and “New School,” the menu includes worldclass renditions of such quintessential rum-based concoctions as a “Painkiller” or a daiquiri, while putting a contemporary spin on the spirit with cocktails like the “Yellowbelly.” The restaurant’s namesake drink dazzles, a refreshing blend of rums, coconut, pineapple and lime juice spiked with turmeric and spicy ginger. You’ll be pleased with Yellowbelly’s food; you’ll be blown away by its drinks. The only thing more thrilling than one of Wiggins’ cocktails is having one paired with those “Oysters and Pearls.” And that’s exactly what Howard and Wiggins have had in mind ever since they teamed up to open Retreat. Their philosophy — to offer the best food in a bar, or the best bar in a restaurant — means you don’t have to choose. And a good thing, too: With options this thrilling, how could you?

Yellowbelly “Oysters and Pearls” ................................ $15 Deviled crab fritters ................................. $14 Thai cioppino (serves 2-4) ........................ $36

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

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SHORT ORDERS

[SIDE DISH]

Dottie Silverman Traded the Courtroom for the Kitchen Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

ooking back, Dottie Silverman realizes that she became a lawyer because she thought it was what she was supposed to do, not necessarily because it was her life dream. “There are a lot of lawyers in my family, and I had a lot of exposure to the practice of law from an early age,” Silverman explains. “When it came time to make a decision about what I was going to do, it seemed like the next step.” These days, Silverman is about as far away from the legal field as it gets, having traded the courtroom for the kitchen. As co-owner and chief pie-maker at Dottie’s Flour Shop (9783 Clayton Road, Ladue; 314-692-8776), Silverman has finally given herself permission to follow the dream that dates back to when she was a young girl baking for her family. Silverman showed her baking prowess early on. As a child, she was given free rein in the kitchen, and by the time she was in middle school, she was the family’s resident baker. “I had a mom who let me have room to experiment and have success and failure,” Silverman says. “It ultimately ended up with me loving baking and learning through doing.” Though Silverman was passionate about baking, it never crossed her mind that she could make a career out of it. Instead, she took what she thought was the safe path, ending up with a successful

Dottie Silverman always dreamed of being a baker, and has found the reality everything she hoped it would be. | JEN WEST

career as an attorney. Silverman enjoyed practicing law, but she found herself gravitating toward the kitchen any time she was stressed or needing to relax. But until she took time off work to raise her twin daughters, weekends were her only outlet. Though being a mother was no less busy than working full time outside the home, the time away from her law practice gave her the mental clarity to realize that, just maybe, it was time to pursue her passion. “I found myself at a place where I was ready to go back to work full time, and I had a moment where I thought, ‘OK, my lifelong dream has been to open a bakery,’” Silverman says. “I love baking so much and thought to myself, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing if I got to do that every day?’” At a crossroads, Silverman began talking with her friend Jess Lucas about her dream. Lucas was well positioned to offer not just advice but also assistance. As co-owner (with her husband Mark) of Fozzie’s Sandwich Em-

porium and the recently opened Humble Pie, Lucas asked if Silverman would like to try her hand at doing desserts for the restaurants. Silverman accepted the offer and eventually began to make a name for herself. With Lucas by her side, she began doing special orders and providing baked goods for a few other businesses in town. She found the work to be everything she had dreamed it would be. When the Lucases shuttered Humble Pie in November 2017, they did not give up the real estate. Instead, they converted the space into Dottie’s Flour Shop, so Silverman and Jess Lucas could have a dedicated kitchen and storefront for their growing brand. The pair opened the bakery in early November of this year and haven’t looked back since. “As much hard work as it is, we are having a ball,” Silverman says. “It’s not every day you get the opportunity to make a living out of doing something you love. I pinch myself every morning.” Silverman took a break from the

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pie shop to share her thoughts on the St. Louis food-and-beverage scene, the importance of buying local and why every occasion calls for pie. What is one thing people don’t know about you that you wish they did? I’m prone to mudita, which is experiencing joy vicariously through the joy of others. So if you have good news, share it with me! What daily ritual is non-negotiable for you? Morning coffee. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? The power to fly. What is the most positive thing in food, wine or cocktails that you’ve noticed in St. Louis over the past year? Locally sourced food featured in more and more restaurants. We think it’s important to source locally for not only the fresher product, but more importantly, to support your local farmers and to invest in your community. What is something missing in the

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BUY ONE ENTREE, RECEIVE 50% OFF THE SECOND Exp. 12/29/18

Open Christmas Eve Closed Christmas Day | Open New Year’s Eve Open New Year’s Day at 4pm

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sunday BRUNCH BUFFET SHOW AT NOON don’t miss our december burlesque show “it’s the most wonderful time of the year” T H E B O O M B O O M R O O M ST L .C O M

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[FOOD NEWS]

[FIRST LOOK]

Food Pedaler Expands While Maintaining Its Indie Spirit

At the Baker’s Hub, Up-AndComers Find a Place to Grow Written by

DESI ISAACSON

Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

im Kiefer has been toying around with the idea of expansion ever since he started his bicycle delivery service, Food Pedaler, in 2013. The problem has been how to maintain the hyper-local business model and customer-service focus even while growing the areas it served. Now, Kiefer believes he has figured out that kink. The bicycle entrepreneur recently announced that Food Pedaler will begin expanding via a hyper-local, neighborhood-based model, beginning downtown. Kiefer hopes to add new neighborhoods to the mix soon. “We really did grow quickly, and I could’ve gone the route of other companies and been all over,” Kiefer explains. “But I’m just really picky about service. I didn’t start Food Pedaler because I want to have a delivery empire. I did it because I genuinely love bicycle delivery and working with restaurants.” Kiefer tapped Alex Ward, a current Food Pedaler rider and entrepreneur in his own right, as the service’s first neighborhood owner. Ward will oversee the downtown territory, one in which Food Pedaler already has a presence. Still, Ward hopes to expand the list of restaurants serviced and believes that having a singular focus on the area will allow him to do so. “As soon as I interviewed with Tim, I knew this was a warm, friendly business I could work for, and I started thinking of ways it could improve,” Ward says. “We already had downtown, but I see a ton of expansion that could happen there.”

Tim Kiefer, left, and Alex Ward plan to expand Food Pedaler. | BETH GROLLMES-KIEFER The food-delivery market has rapidly grown in recent years. Companies like Postmates, Uber Eats, GrubHub, and even Amazon have clamored to fill the space, but Kiefer does not see them as a threat. In fact, he believes that comparisons between Food Pedaler and the national brands reflect favorably on his business. “We have this special recipe, and it is an anomaly compared to what the rest of the industry is doing,” Kiefer explains. “It comes down to people who care about what they are doing. The same level of perfectionism that makes me want to ensure that we are getting orders in 30 minutes and delivering fries that are still hot and sushi that is still rolled is the reason we aren’t in twenty cities as a corporate behemoth. Our riders actually care about service.” Kiefer and Ward anticipate that their neighborhood-based ownership model will attract prospective entrepreneurs — some of them currently Food Pedaler riders — who want to bring the service to new neighborhoods. That could include places like South Grand,

Tower Grove and the Grove. “The bike has an advantage in those neighborhoods, and we already have some riders who have expressed interest,” Kiefer says. “We think the Grove will be a party because it would be the latenight place that we deliver. Plus, we already have a fan base in Cortex and the hospitals around it.” Kiefer is emphatic that the expansion does not mean a change to the hyper-local, customerservice-oriented model he has worked so hard to cultivate. Conscious of the complaints generated by other food-delivery services — from both customers and the restaurants they serve — Kiefer understands why getting this right, not rapid growth, is the key to his company’s success. “If your first experience of a restaurant is a two-hour delivery time and cold fries, you have a negative image of that restaurant. Often, we are a person’s first impression of a restaurant,” Kiefer says. “We understand that. We aren’t doing this to gain a monopoly. We do it because we care about service.” n

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new bakery opened about a month ago in Chesterfield. Or more accurately, ten did. The Bakers Hub (67 Forum Shopping Center, Chesterfield, 314-295-4898) is a place for upand-coming bakers to get access to a full kitchen and sell their goods. Sam Buettner is the owner of Sam’s Vegan Kitchen, one of the ten independent bakeries housed within the Bakers Hub. With two industrial kitchens, the concept allows them to reserve time slots to come in and create their delicacies, which are then sold in the storefront. Buettner is thrilled with the opportunity the space provides. “There is nothing else like this,” she says. When you walk in, you can get cheesecakes, pies, French macaroons, vegan oatmeal cream pie and dozens of other options. Of course, Buettner’s specialty is vegan desserts. She makes sure to clean all of the supplies beforehand to make sure there is no contamination. She also gets many allergy clients, so it helps that she makes everything from scratch. Buettner is always changing her cupcake options, but she already has a few staples that customers find they must have. Her pop-tartz (with a ‘Z’ to avoid being sued, she jokes) are a great way to start the day. The woman working the counter raves about how many people come in just to buy Buettner’s terrific oatmeal cream pies. And she also always offers the Oreo sandwich cookie. Most of the bakers, including Buettner, are using the Hub as a way to start or supplement their business. Many started as home bakers, so if someone wanted something, they would have to order it in larger numbers. Now, each of the companies can sell single items in the shop. Says Buettner, “I couldn’t afford all of this on my own.” All of the bakers use social media (mostly Facebook and Instagram) to update people on new items they are trying or changes to their menu. All of their websites and social media links can be found on the Bakers Hub website. There is also some collaboration going on among the bakers. The Hub has a massive holiday bundle with specialties from each different baker. Also, there Continued on pg 41

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A holiday bundle features offerings from all of the bakers at the Bakers Hub. | DESI ISAACSON

BAKERS HUB

Continued from pg 39

has been some discussion about doing weddings and events as a group to expand options for customers. While each baker is trying to grow his or her business, there is no competition among them. They each understand that they have their own specialty and that referring customers to each other will only help them all as a whole. For instance, the vegan community will come in for Sam’s Vegan Kitchen, but many will end up perusing everything else in the case

DOTTIE SILVERMAN Continued from pg 35

local food, wine or cocktail scene that you’d like to see? What the world needs is more PIE. Pie is a dish that can be enjoyed year-round. It is thought of around Thanksgiving, but it is so much more than that. Hot, cold, sweet, savory, there is a pie for every occasion. Who is your St. Louis food crush? Kevin & Mina Nashan of Peacemaker Lobster & Crab Co. and Sidney Street Cafe. They are my go-to. Who’s the one person to watch right now in the St. Louis dining scene? Lona Luo of Lona’s Lil Eats. Which ingredient is most representative of your personality?

and come out with much more. At any given moment, there are about 80 different items combined from the ten bakers inside the case. Each baker goes in three to four times a week, so their options are always fresh. Buettner and her cohorts are excited with the unique opportunity that the Baker’s Hub provides, not only as a space for up-and-comers to grow their business but as the sole place in town to check out ten bakeries in one storefront. The Bakers Hub is open Wednesday and Thursday from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m., Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon. n

Cinnamon, because it is warm, but not overpowering. If you weren’t working in the restaurant business, what would you be doing? Practicing law. Prior to opening Dottie’s Flour Shop, I was an attorney. Now that I’m a pie-maker, people are much happier to see me! Name an ingredient never allowed in your restaurant. Artificial sweetener. What is your after-work hangout? My living room with my kids. What’s your food or beverage guilty pleasure? I’m a sucker for chocolate and pasta. What would be your last meal on earth? Tutto mare, fresh bread and a big slice of chocolate pie a la mode. n

Joshua Grigaitis, aka Joshua Loyal, works the Pop’s Blue Moon bar. | TOM HELLAUER

[FOOD NEWS]

Pop’s Blue Moon Goes Booze-Free on Saturdays Written by

TOM HELLAUER

fter surviving Prohibition, near demolition from the creation of Interstate 44 and changing owners, St. Louis’ oldest bar is deciding not to sell alcohol — by choice. Every Saturday, since the beginning of November, Pop’s Blue Moon (5249 Pattison, 314-776-4200) has held NA Saturdays, featuring live music with non-alcoholic craft beers from Wellbeing Brewing, mocktails and other options.

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Changes don’t just stop with the menu, though. Liquor bottles, the PBR clock, a vintage Miller High Life sign and branded bar mats come down, too. “It means a lot to certain people not to have those triggers, to provide that comfort zone,” says Joshua Grigaitis, co-owner and son of Terry “Pops” Grigaitis. According to Grigaitis, who often goes by the name “Joshua Loyal” as a nod to his business, Loyal Family, the Saturday transformation makes Pop’s the first and lone “dry bar” in St. Louis, if only for one day a week. “There’s other people who, of course, will do things alcohol free, but it’s not a bar atmosphere,” Grigaitis says. “This is as legitimate a dive bar as you can get.” Despite the obvious changes, Grigaitis says NA Saturdays are not all that different than Pop’s usual vibe. If anything, patrons are more interested in what they’re drinking, excited to try new, unexpected flavors and listen to musical performances ranging from bluegrass to hip hop.

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Continued on pg 42

RIVERFRONT TIMES

NON-ALCOHOLIC POP’S Continued from pg 41

Finding performers proved to be easier than Grigaitis anticipated. After initially putting out a call to find musicians who may be interested in playing a set on a NA Saturday, Grigaitis was overwhelmed by the response, hearing from around two dozen interested artists. Some are musicians who don’t drink themselves or who were excited to play for crowds more interested in their art than the booze.

The decision to host NA Saturdays coincided with Grigaitis’ own resolve to become a more mindful drinker. As a music promoter and co-owner of Pop’s going on twenty years, he found the industry encouraged heavy drinking. However, the allure eventually wore off. “Being in the bar business, it’s just easy to have beers in your hand all the time. It’s very hard to say no to everybody,” Grigaitis says. After six months of not drinking two summers ago, Grigaitus started brainstorming a way to shift his professional life away from alcohol. The answer — Wellbeing

Brewing Company and its line of non-alcoholic craft beers — surprised him. “I thought [the answer] would be another job or revenue stream like merchandising or sponsorships or food or something else within the same industry,” Grigaitis says. “I was looking for something that wasn’t alcohol, but I didn’t think it was going to be non-alcohol.” Joining the Wellbeing team as a marketer in October 2017, Grigaitis fell in love with the brewer’s Heavenly Body N/A Golden Wheat. Subsequent releases, such as the hoppy-flavored Hellraiser

“There’s people who, of course, will do things alcohol free, but it’s not a bar atmosphere. [Pop’s] is as legitimate a dive bar as you can get.” and Coffee Cream Stout helped solidify Wellbeing’s grip, not only on Grigaitis but on the craft N/A industry as a whole. Part of that success is owed to its technology. To date, Wellbeing is the only N/A brewer in the country with a de-alcoholizer. The impressive machine, imported from Germany, heats the beer to 90 degrees Fahrenheit at the end of the brewing process. The temperature is hot enough to evaporate the alcohol but cool enough to not burn any flavors. Other N/A brewers boil their beers to remove alcohol, losing richness and taste. Wellbeing has enjoyed unparalleled expansion in the past two years. Launching in the fall of 2017, its N/A craft beers are now in 26 states and Europe. Last January, Wellbeing produced around 500 cases of product. Eleven months later, its monthly case figures are closer to 4,000, Grigaitis says. Wellbeing’s rapid success in filling a void in the market helped convince Grigaitis and his father to try something different at Pop’s. The first NA Saturday was originally planned as a release party for Wellbeing’s Coffee Cream Stout, but the idea quickly ballooned, resulting in Pop’s moving up the date more than a month. Grigaitis hasn’t looked back. “The buzz was so strong — or the not-buzz, I should say,” Grigaitis laughs. Though St. Louis is often said to lag behind coastal cities in the food and beverage industries, it finds itself at the forefront in this case, riding the mindful-drinking wave well before the rest of the country. “The new, younger demographic is not heavy drinkers,” explains Grigaitis. “They want to look good and feel good and be successful.” n

RIVERFRONT TIMES

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MUSIC & CULTURE

[HOMESPUN]

Free at Last The Free Years serve up a synthheavy slab of dance pop with debut album For a Limited Time Written by

CHRISTIAN SCHAEFFER

bout five years ago, as Matt Kavanagh was getting ready to release a record with his old band Palace, the head of the label had a small request before pressing the album. “When I talked to the label owner, he didn’t say it was unlistenable or anything, but he said that he wanted to make it radio friendly and re-record some stuff,” Kavanagh recalls. That “I don’t hear a single” line may seem like the kind of power move reserved for ledger-dwelling A&R men, but Kavanagh and company were happy enough to comply. Palace, a ’60s-indebted pop group that mixed twee affectations and boy-girl vocal interplay with Kavanagh’s occasionally confessional lyrics, ended up releasing that record, but dissolved shortly thereafter. After a number of lineup changes and a roster that swelled to eight people at one point, Kavanagh simply didn’t have the energy to keep up with the pace of fronting a many-membered band with multiple personnel shifts. “I was going through this same process of re-teaching the songs to new members and then having to relive those songs,” Kavanagh says. “I was just over it.” So rather than soldier on with the umpteenth version of Palace, Kavanagh and drummer Danny Hill joined up with Ryan Meyers, who had played in the band Dots Not Feathers. Together, they fused their love of 1980s synth-heavy production into the Free Years. If Palace wasn’t exactly radio ready, the Free Years has overcompensated with its ultra-clean sheen of bubbly synths, tightly compressed drums and falsetto vocals. On its debut recording For a Limited Time, the band channels the disco-hangover of Chromeo

For a Limited Time brings high-energy, danceable music with plenty of memorable hooks. | PROVIDED BY THE BAND through the Swedish hit-making machinery that producers like Max Martin have weaponized. “I wanted to get away from that twee-pop and that ’60s influence. I wanted to do something more modern,” Kavanagh says. If the Free Years sacrificed the live, loose energy of its members’ old bands, the new palette lets Kavanagh perform at his expressive best. He’s always been an emotive singer, and the grid-like patterns on a track like “Step by Step” require a bit more vocal discipline than he was used to. Kavanagh is heartened by the response that the band’s debut single “Eazy,” complete with a dance-routine video, garnered, and he wants to build off of the energy in fusing synthy, neon-lit song styles with modern pop production. “When a song works, I’m gonna run with elements of that idea and keep that in mind,” he says. “A lot of Palace stuff was just for me, and it was cool that other people dug it. I want to know what works and excited other people.” For a Limited Time has a slight tang of irony in its title; this record-

ing was expected to drop some time ago, but the vagaries of life — and members transitioning from their twenties into their thirties — accounts for some of the slowdown. “I think there are a lot of factors, but it was a lot of growing up and having full-time jobs and trying to make it work,” Kavanagh, who is a plumber by trade, says. “Time flashes and I have a career — I didn’t want to have a career, but here it is.” Whatever initial buzz the Free Years had upon formation has cooled a bit, and subsequent shows were performed with the aid of backing tracks, one of the cardinal sins of rock & roll realism and a dividing line between the rock and pop worlds. “I don’t know if it was not accepted or if St. Louis is more geared toward Americana,” Kavanagh says. “The fact that we’re using backing tracks, too — that was mostly a necessary evil to combat dealing with people’s schedules. Moving forward, we’re getting more and more keen on the idea of getting rid of the backing tracks and doing the full band.”

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Kavanagh and Hill remain the core of the Free Years in the wake of Meyers’ departure, and the band has since grown to a fivepiece (bassist Kevin Neumann and keyboardists Jessica Urso and Josh Edwards round out the lineup). Having formed Palace in his mid-twenties, Kavanagh looks at musical success through a different lens now that he’s put some years behind him. “I think about longevity; the way longevity looked when I was 25 is different when I’m 33,” he muses. “Can I actually perform these energetic pop songs when I’m 55? I’ll always be a songwriter, but I think that the future for me personally would be more involved with the sync licensing business. But I don’t see myself giving up the band. Once I got a full band again, I got the energy back.” Juggling a nine-to-five and a band is an investment, and Kavanagh has few pipe dreams about making it rich. His goals are a little more modest. “I just want to get a return on it so I can stop being a plumber,” he says with a laugh. n

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

[REVIEW]

Siding With the Seeds Jeff Tweedy’s new memoir chronicles his struggles with mental illness, addiction — and both Jays Written by

CHRIS KING

n Let’s Go So We Can Get Back, Jeff Tweedy has written a courageous, insightful memoir of growing up an indie rocker in the Midwest and on the road with Uncle Tupelo, grinding his way steadily to rock stardom with Wilco. Tweedy is now firmly associated with Chicago, but he grew up in Belleville and made his first name as a musician in Cicero’s Basement Bar in the University City Loop, and those origins mark his memoir as surely as his life. Tweedy shows courage in writing in plain, raw terms about his battle with behavioral disorders and addiction. If his trajectory as a musician appears enviable — making a living making music on his own terms with fabulously talented musicians, winning Grammy awards, producing records for Mavis Staples and Richard Thompson — it’s impossible to want to be inside his head once his full story is known. The book is a rare rockstar memoir where the hero repeatedly ends up weeping on the floor in public or sleeping beside a toilet after hours of vomiting from anxiety. Tweedy narrated his struggle with anxiety and depression on the Hilarious World of Depression podcast in November 2017 and tells the same stories, often in the same terms, on the page here. It’s a harrowing and, ultimately, redemptive story. After finally seeking institutionalization for dual treatment of depression and addiction, Tweedy was released to a halfway house, where a fellow resident came upon him playing guitar — which he had not done in months — and encouraged him to keep it up. Already a veteran, at that point, of obsessive fandom, Tweedy genuinely was buoyed by a stranger with no knowledge of his musical career — a person who simply urged him to just be a little more confident.

RIVERFRONT TIMES

It’s a rare rock-star memoir where the hero repeatedly ends up weeping on the floor in public. WHITTEN SABBATINI That’s the opposite conclusion that Jay Farrar reached after sharing a stage (and an uninhabitable apartment and rancid vans) with Tweedy in Uncle Tupelo. We learn that Farrar quit the band of their youth on the verge of stardom because he thought Tweedy was too infatuated with himself. Tweedy is courageous in writing about his splits with both of the Jays in his musical life, Farrar and the late Jay Bennett, not least because Farrar all but dodged the subject in his own 2013 memoir, Falling Cars and Junkyard Dogs. Farrar could not even bring himself to commit Tweedy’s name to the page, simply referring to him as “the bassist” — which itself speaks volumes, since when Farrar broke up Uncle Tupelo, Tweedy clearly was emerging as a co-leader, something Farrar still finds hard to swallow. Tweedy, on the other hand, writes with great insight about their partnership, even admitting that in Wilco’s early days he was still writing as if to complement Farrar’s songs — a surprising, humble admission. Tweedy emerges as an insightful critic of his old band, saying that Farrar’s voice makes everything he sings “sound like the Old Testament.” Tweedy’s take on his relationship with Bennett, which can be seen unraveling in Sam Jones’ 2002 Wilco documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, sits less well because Bennett is dead and the other members of Wilco, who might offer alternate perspectives, are essentially Tweedy’s employees and not quoted. (If this book makes you not want to be in

DECEMBER 19 - 26, 2018

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Tweedy’s head, it doesn’t exactly make you want to be in his current band, either.) Tweedy is, again, courageous to face head-on the claim made by many that Wilco without Bennett has been a lesser band — in my view, much less dynamic and especially much less melodic. “I Can’t Stand It” from 1999’s Summerteeth — which has Bennett all over it — has more hummable melodies in one song than entire Wilco records that came after it. Without knowing it, Tweedy accounts for the decline in melody and dynamism in his songwriting when he describes his current process of writing alone with no intended audience other than himself. His own recorded output shows he writes much better in more active interplay with other musicians. Tweedy later writes with great joy about what sounds like a more dynamic musical environment than Wilco in his jams and collaborations with his sons, Spencer and Sammy. Tweedy’s book does make it sound like his family would be a happy place to find yourself, if inside his head and main band might not be. That is, if it weren’t for the cancer. Tweedy writes about going through cancer (twice) with his wife, the former Susan Miller, former owner of the legendary Lounge Axe in Chicago. Tweedy uses the effective tactic of transcribing interviews with his wife and Spencer to get their voices and perspectives on him and their family into the story. If there is anything more dangerous than writing about one’s own intact

rock band, that would be writing about one’s own intact family. Knowing Tweedy a bit — having come up in the same music scene with him, played gigs with him, bought a band van (lovingly described in the memoir) from him and booked a tour around an Uncle Tupelo session so one of my bandmates could play on the band’s 1991 record Still Feel Gone — I see one major missing interview here. I can’t believe he never sat down and spoke to his manager, Tony Margherita, about how to handle sensitive band issues, as he interviewed his family members about their family. After his immediate family, his decades-long partnership with Margherita must count as the most crucial relationship in his life, but it goes unexplored and almost unmentioned. I know, because Margherita told me at the time, that he played a critical role in Tweedy abandoning alcohol at age 23, which saved his career and possibly his life. Indeed, many of us who came up with Uncle Tupelo thought Tweedy succeeded so spectacularly after the breakup, whereas Farrar plateaued, because Tweedy got the savvy manager in the split. Margherita all but steals the Sam Jones documentary about Wilco, as he manages to convince the same record label to pay for the same record (2001’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) twice, with the band cementing invaluable indie cred by streaming it on its website for free in between the two deals. Let’s hope Tweedy has more books in him, and that a future book delves into this complex, productive relationship. Perhaps I think this because I owe Margherita so much myself. He showed me how to book band tours like he booked for Uncle Tupelo, and I spent ten years on the road playing rock music based on what he taught me. Also, I owe my career as a journalist to him. When my old band Enormous Richard opened for Uncle Tupelo at the Blue Note in Columbia, I wrote about it and shared the story with Margherita, just for fun, and he told me to send it to the Riverfront Times. “They broke our band and are proud of it,” he told me. “I bet they’ll take it.” He was right; it was published on June 5, 1991. That was the first time I was paid to commit journalism, and I have been paid to write ever since. Chris King, now managing editor of the St. Louis American, is a former contributor to the Riverfront Times. We’re happy to see him in our pages once more.

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DECEMBER 19 - 26, 2018

RIVERFRONT TIMES

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The fast-fresh, made-to-order concept applied to everything from pizza pasta Louis, The fast-fresh, made-to-order concept has has beenbeen applied to everything from pizza to to pasta ininSt.St.Louis, butsushi the sushi burrito surprisingly no Gateway home until MKT Eats opened nearSaint Saint but the burrito surprisingly had had no Gateway CityCity home until BLKBLK MKT Eats opened near University last Itfall. worth the wait, though, because MKT Eats combines boldflavors flavorsand and LouisLouis University last fall. wasIt was worth the wait, though, because BLKBLK MKT Eats combines bold convenience a perfectly wrapped package that’s ideal those a rush. Cousins and co-owners convenience into ainto perfectly wrapped package that’s ideal for for those in ainrush. Cousins and co-owners Kati Fahrney and Turigliatto Ron Turigliatto a casual menu of high-quality, all-natural ingredientsthat thatfitfit Kati Fahrney and Ron offeroffer a casual menu fullfull of high-quality, all-natural ingredients NOT YOUR AVERAGE SUSHI SPOT NOT YOUR AVERAGE SUSHI SPOT everything you love burritos right in your hand. Swedish Fish layers Scandinavian everything you love aboutabout sushisushi and and burritos right in your hand. TheThe Swedish Fish layers Scandinavian 9 SOUTH VANDEVENTER DINE-IN, OR DELIVERY MON-SAT 11AM-9PM salmon, dill slaw, Persian cucumbers avocado aTAKEOUT fresh flavor explosion. Another 9 SOUTH VANDEVENTER DINE-IN, OR DELIVERY MON-SAT 11AM-9PM curedcured salmon, yuzuyuzu dill slaw, Persian cucumbers andand avocado for for aTAKEOUT fresh flavor explosion. Another favorite, the OG Fire, features your choice of spicy tuna or salmon alongside tempura crunch, masago, favorite, the OG Fire, features your choice of spicy tuna or salmon alongside tempura crunch, masago, shallots, jalapeño and piquant namesake sauce; Persian cucumbers and avocado soothe your tongue shallots, jalapeño and piquant namesake sauce; Persian cucumbers and avocado soothe your tongue from the sauce’s kick. All burrito rolls come with sticky rice wrapped in nori or can be made into poké from the sauce’s kick. All burrito rolls come with sticky rice wrapped in nori or can be made into poké bowls, and all items can be modified for vegetarians. bowls, and all items can be modified for vegetarians.

Housedininaaretro retroservice service station, station, J. J. Smugs fire. Housed Smugs GastroPit GastroPitserves servesup upbarbecue barbecuethat thatcan canfuel fuelanyone’s anyone’s fire. Marriedteams teamsofofJoe Joe and and Kerri Kerri Smugala Smugala and goodness Married andJohn Johnand andLinda LindaSmugala Smugalahave havebrought broughtcharred charred goodness theHill Hillneighborhood, neighborhood, nestled nestled among and bakertotothe among the thetraditional traditionalItalian Italianrestaurants, restaurants,sandwich sandwichshops shops and bakeries.Part PartofofSt. St.Louis’ Louis’ongoing ongoing barbecue barbecue boom, right. Ribs ies. boom,the theJ.J.Smugs’ Smugs’pit pitmenu menuisiscompact compactbut butdone done right. Ribs arethe themain mainattraction, attraction,made made with with aa spicy brisket, turkey are spicy dry dryrub ruband andsmoked smokedtotoperfection. perfection.Pulled Pulledpork, pork, brisket, turkey andchicken chickenare arealso alsoin in the the pit pit holding holding up sauces of of and up well wellon ontheir theirown, own,but butsqueeze squeezebottles bottlesofofsixsixtasty tasty sauces varyingstyle styleare arenearby nearby for for extra extra punch. punch. Delicious butbut plan onon varying Deliciousstandard standardsides sidesand andsalads saladsareareavailable, available, plan ordering an appetizer or two J. Smugs gives this course a twist with street corn and pulled-pork poutine. ordering an appetizer or two J. Smugs gives this course a twist with street corn and pulled-pork poutine. Several desserts are available, including cannoli – a tasty nod to the neighborhood. Happy hour from Several desserts are available, including cannoli – a tasty nod to the neighborhood. Happy hour from 4 to 7pm on weekdays showcases half-dollar BBQ tastes, discount drinks, and $6 craft beer flights to 4 to 7pm on weekdays showcases half-dollar BBQ tastes, discount drinks, and $6 craft beer flights to soothe any beer aficionado. soothe any beer aficionado.

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314.449.6328 5257 SHAW AVE, 314.449.6328 LOUIS, MO 5257ST. SHAW AVE, 63110 ST. LOUIS, MO 63110 Carnivore fills a nearly 4,000-square-foot space on The Hill with a dining area, bar lounge, and adjoining outdoor gracefully guarded by aspace bronzeonsteer main entrance. Always embracing change, Carnivore fillspatio a nearly 4,000-square-foot The at Hillthewith a dining area, bar lounge, and adjoining Joepatio and Kerri Smugala, with business partners andentrance. Casie Lutker, launched Carnivore STL this outdoor gracefully guarded by a bronze steerChef at theMike main Always embracing change, summer. As the Hill’s only steakhouse, Carnivore offers a homestyle menu at budget-friendly prices apJoe and Kerri Smugala, with business partners Chef Mike and Casie Lutker, launched Carnivore STL this pealing to the neighborhood’s many families.offers Steak,aofhomestyle course, takes center stage with juicy prices filet mignon, summer. As the Hill’s only steakhouse, Carnivore menu at budget-friendly aptoptosirloin, strip steak and ribeye leading the menu. Customize anycenter of thestage succulent sautéed pealing the neighborhood’s many families. Steak, of course, takes with meats juicy fiwith let mignon, mushrooms, grilled shrimp, or melted housemade butters, such as garlic-and-herb and red wine reductop sirloin, strip steak and ribeye leading the menu. Customize any of the succulent meats with sautéed tion, on top of the flame-seared steak. Other main dishes include a thick-cut pork steak (smoked at J. mushrooms, grilled shrimp, or melted housemade butters, such as garlic-and-herb and red wine reducSmugs) and the grilled chicken with capers and a white wine-lemon-butter sauce. St. Louis Italian tradition, on top of the flame-seared steak. Other main dishes include a thick-cut pork steak (smoked at J. tions get their due in the Baked Ravioli, smothered in provel cheese and house ragu, and in the Arancini, Smugs) andballs the grilled withand capers and a white wine-lemon-butter sauce. Louisnew Italian tradirisotto stuffedchicken with provel swimming in a pool of meat sauce. With an St. exciting brunch tions menu get their due in the Baked Ravioli, smothered in provel cheese and house ragu, and in the Arancini, debuting for Saturday and Sunday, Carnivore should be everyone’s new taste of the Hill. risotto balls stuffed with provel and swimming in a pool of meat sauce. With an exciting new brunch menu4 debuting 6 R I V for E R Saturday F R O N T and T I MSunday, E S DCarnivore E C E M B Eshould R 1 9 be - everyone’s 2 6 , 2 0 1 8newrtaste i v e roff rthe o n Hill. ttimes.com

314.652.5666 5200 OAKLAND AVE, 314.652.5666 ST. LOUIS, MO AVE, 5200 OAKLAND ST.63110 LOUIS, MO 63110 A new restaurant with a meaningful cause has sprouted up near the Saint Louis Science Center. Bloom a breakfastwith andalunch spot with a mission – empower people disabilities through job training ACafé newisrestaurant meaningful cause has sprouted up near thewith Saint Louis Science Center. Bloom while tastylunch menuspot full of sandwiches sweets. An endeavor Paraquad, a disability reCafé is providing a breakfasta and with a missionand – empower people withfrom disabilities through job training sources nonproft, Bloom Cafe full makes good on its promises. Trainees work under director Joe Wil-rewhile providing a tasty menu of sandwiches and sweets. An endeavor fromculinary Paraquad, a disability son to prepare a variety fresh dishesgood (including plenty of vegetarian and under gluten-free options) thatJoe areWilsources nonproft, BloomofCafe makes on its promises. Trainees work culinary director perfect for a lunch date,ofa business meeting or a family meal before fun in Forest Park. Foroptions) a morning son to prepare a variety fresh dishes (including plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free thatjolt, are try thefor breakfast withmeeting sausage,oregg and pepperjack cheese topped salsa.jolt, perfect a lunchburrito, date, astuffed business a family meal before fun inand Forest Park.with Fortomato a morning At lunch, the reuben stands out, making mouths water with a smoky, juicy corned beef brisket, sauerkraut, try the breakfast burrito, stuffed with sausage, egg and pepperjack cheese and topped with tomato salsa. melted Swiss cheese and tangy Thousand Island sandwiched between swirl rye bread and toasted. A rotatAt lunch, the reuben stands out, making mouths water with a smoky, juicy corned beef brisket, sauerkraut, ing array of pastries is available daily, but you’ll deﬁnitely want to pick up the cinnamon roll – cinnamon melted Swiss cheese tangy between ryeinbread and sweet glaze makeand their wayThousand into every Island nook ofsandwiched the light dough for a swirl delight everyand bite.toasted. A rotating array of pastries is available daily, but you’ll deﬁnitely want to pick up the cinnamon roll – cinnamon and sweet glaze make their way into every nook of the light dough for a delight in every bite.

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