Meet St. Louis

Even if you're not from St. Louis, you probably know the name. Since opening in 2011, 4 Hands Brewing has built a reputation as one of the most creative and prolific breweries in the Midwest. Not only are they a staple throughout the region, but their beer is also reaching people all over the country. Founder and owner Kevin Lemp sits down with Meet St. Louis to talk about what it takes to make gr...

Matt McGuire is no stranger to successful restaurants. From Monarch, to Herbie’s, to Brasserie and Niche, he has made a name for himself at some of the city’s best restaurants. But it all started when he and several friends opened King Louie’s in 1996. A restaurant that many today remember with fondness. And bits of that famed St. Louis restaurant now live on in Louie, the restaurant everyone seem...

The owners, chefs and bartenders at Olive + Oak put their heart into everything they do. Their customers are treated more like family and if you sit at the bar, you’ll feel like you’re in bartenders Morgaine Segura and Charlie Martin’s living room. The newlyweds shake up seasonal cocktails at the Webster Groves hot spot, and they can make a drink for any moment. Local and national praise (includin...

Block by block, Grand Center continues to grow into the arts destination of St. Louis. And if it’s up to Chris Hansen, it will be a destination known world-wide. The executive director of the Kranzberg Arts Foundation says the community-driven organization is dedicated to creating spaces for artists to thrive. From gallery space to intimate listening spaces to the circus, there’s a little somethin...

Twice nominated for Best Chef: Midwest for the James Beard Awards, Lona Luo is unfazed by accolades. For her, the real wins are from the people who line up to try the food of her home. Lona grew up in a small village in China. Her entire life, she has never taken no for an answer and through her perseverance she has created one St. louis’ best loved restaurants, Lona’s Lil Eats in Fox Park. The ch...

From the halls of the White House to a storefront on South Grand, Martin Casas is always working to make an impact on his community. Now, he’s traded in politics for superheroes as the owner of Apotheosis Comics in South St. Louis. The first comic book store and bar, Martin hopes to build a place where all feel welcome. The California native shares what brought him to St. Louis but more importantl...

They’re considered the pioneers of the food truck business here in St. Louis. Brian Hardesty and Joel Crespo hit the streets with their renovated truck featuring Fillipino-inspired food in 2011 and they haven’t stopped since. Guerilla Street Food has expanded to multiple brick and mortar locations across the St. Louis region. They’ve been recognized locally and nationally as the best food truck bu...

Rain, snow or sunshine, you never know what to expect with a St. Louis Mardi Gras. But for 40 years, St. Louisians have braved whatever the elements have to offer to celebrate in the streets of Soulard. Mack Bradley the president of the Mardi Gras Foundation explains how the county’s second largest celebration got its start on a cold winter day back in 1979. He takes us behind the scenes of the bi...

What started with the renovation of one building in University City has evolved into the restoration of hundreds of buildings across St. Louis. Amy and Amrit Gill of Restoration STL look at a crumbling building and see a future home or a chance to rebuild a neighborhood one brick at a time. The husband and wife team has restored 400 buildings, from single-family homes to the newly-opened Hotel St....

From alternative rock to alternative toppings, Steve Ewing is always shaking things up. Ewing is the frontman for the alt rock band The Urge and the founder of Steve’s Hot Dogs on the Hill. Whether it’s creating new toppings for his gourmet dogs or playing sold out crowds at the Pageant, Ewing says it’s all about the fans. The father, musician and business man sat down with Meet St. Louis to talk...

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and for Mary Bogacki, she wants that breakfast to be the best it can be. You might not know it from the outside of the dated strip mall, but Yolklore is serving up some of the best breakfast not just in St. Louis County but across the region. With a background in pastry, Mary says every job since she was 16 was leading her to where she is to...

You may not know the name, but you definitely know their work. Space LLC has designed and built some of the most well-known spots in St. Louis. Pi, Publico, Narwhals, Kaldi's, Mission... the list goes on and on. Meet St. Louis sits down with founder Tom Niemeier to talk about how you rebuild a city, one building at a time. Sit back, plug in. and enjoy!

"We do something no one else in the country does." WellBeing Brewing Company has, by any measure, the most success in their first year of any St. Louis brewery ever. They're in 26 states, part of dozens of festivals around the country, and are adding customers by the minute. They've created some of the most unique beers in their industry, including ones you can drink at work, at home, or on the ro...

Say hello to the trendy new juice bar in The Grove. Jordan and Kayla Bauer landed on the idea when they were on their honeymoon in Hawaii, realizing it was a niche missing in their hometown of St. Louis. Instagramable smoothie bowls, fresh-pressed juice and super food elixers draw big crowds to the café. Over the whir of the blenders, the Bauer’s talked to Meet St. Louis about the challenges of op...

Fried chicken and family are two of the things Rick Lewis credits with his success. The James Beard-nominated chef and owner serves up southern cuisine at Grace Meat & Three in The Grove Neighborhood. Many know him from Quincy Street Bistro and Southern, but his dream was always to open a place of his own. Rick sat down with Meet St. Louis to talk about his career highlights and his plans to conti...

With the holiday season, Meet St. Louis took the week of Christmas off to work on upcoming episodes. Please enjoy this episode on Rockwell Beer Company, one of the most popular of 2018. This interview was inside the brewery before it opened, and now Andy Hille's dream is up and running. Head in to try the beer and food, and plug in to hear what it took to get St. Louis' newest brewery off the grou...

"People come in and say, 'This is like an old time candy store!' No. It IS an old time candy store. We are who we are. 105 years on the same corner." Crown Candy Kitchen is a St. Louis staple, and whether you walked in yesterday or 100 years ago, you'd have the same experience. It's been the same for generations, and as its current steward, Andy Karandzieff is proud of the fact his customers can a...

Nathaniel Reid's love of food has taken him around the world, but he came home to open his own restaurant. He graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris with a Grand Diploma in Culinary and Pastry Arts, and worked pastry kitchens around the globe, including Michelin 3-star restaurant, Joël Robuchon, in Las Vegas and the AAA Five Diamond St. Regis hotel in California. But he never forgot where he came...

His family helped bring Vietnamese food to St. Louis, opening Mai Lee in 1985. Now Qui Tran is spreading his family’s recipes across the country. Having a recipe on the cover of Food & Wine magazine was a pinch-me moment for Tran who immigrated with his family from Vietnam. While he first resisted getting into the restaurant business, it pulled him in. He is now one of the biggest cheerleaders of...

The first Kaldi's opened in the Demun neighborhood in 1994, since then it has grown into one of St. Louis most well-known coffee brands. Kaldi’s Coffee’s director of marketing Frank McGinty shares the evolution of the specialty coffee company. From sustainable sourcing to the vintage roaster still used at their roastery in the Grove, we’re taking you behind the scenes of what goes into every cup o...

Edo Nalic arrived in St. Louis as a refugee, having come to America from war-torn Bosnia. He met his wife Loryn while in the U.S., and the two always knew they wanted to build something together, especially in the food industry. When Loryn went back to Bosnia with Edo, and experienced the life, love, and food of his home country, there was no doubt what they'd build when they came back to America....

Inspired by trips to Bali and Indonesia, Collections by Joya is a women-run jewelry company. Owner Betsy Blancett-Nacrelli left her corporate job to follow a passion. What started inside her St. Louis home has now grown into a company that sells jewelry all over the country. Blancett-Nacrelli says it’s a business that couldn’t have grown without the help of other St. Louis entrepreneurs.

Even if you're not from St. Louis, you probably know the name. Since opening in 2011, 4 Hands Brewing has built a reputation as one of the most creative and prolific breweries in the Midwest. Not only are they a staple throughout the region, their beer is reaching people all over the country. Founder and owner Kevin Lemp sits down with Meet St. Louis to talk about what it takes to make great not o...

How many people would walk away from a six-figure job to chase a dream? Tamara Keefe faced that choice a few years ago and decided to leave the corporate world behind and take a shot at making ice cream. Now, Clementine's is quickly becoming St. Louis' favorite creamery. Getting here was a wild ride, and making ice cream this good means following a lot of rules most people don't know about. Tamara...

"Dude, we should buy a bar!" It's been said a million times at the end of long, adventurous nights, and it never happens. But Brad Lobdell and Sean Conroy actually did it, and now they have THE beer bar franchise in St. Louis. International Tap House, or iTap for locals, is the spot for craft beers in the Gateway City. With five locations and another on the way, it's safe to say their gamble nearl...