Lost Tables

In 1980, Susan Brown opened a little dessert shop on Maryland Avenue in St. Louis' Central West End. She called it Cookies, Cookies & More. Her cookies, brownies and decadent desserts quickly attracted a devoted following, and before long, that little shop had grown into a business with seven locations.

Behind all those sweet treats was a remarkable woman. Jason Brown, Susan's son, shares his mother's story, with an assist from restaurateur Charlie Downs, who was instrumental in Susan’s success.

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Eighty-eight-year-old Ray Gallardo first came to the United States from Mexico as a young man, working as a dishwasher at the Biltmore Hotel in Santa Barbara. His next visit to the Biltmore would be as a successful restaurateur.

Ray told me his story at his office above the City Coffee & Creperie in Clayton, which he owns with his wife Ann.

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Eddie Neill is best known for Cafe Provencal, which has thrived in Kirkwood for almost 30 years. But from his first restaurant, T.P. Neill’s, to Chez Leon, to The Dubliner, there were many others along the way. I talked with Eddie at his home, a 5-minute walk from Ted Drewes.

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The Buttery Restaurant closed for good on Halloween. The South Grand diner had been serving the Tower Grove South Neighborhood for almost 40 years.

I’d never dined at The Buttery. I must admit, I didn’t know it existed. But when someone posted its closure in the Lost Tables Facebook group, and the group exploded with comments, I had to find out what The Buttery was all about.

Bryan Lawrence had worked as a cook at The Buttery for 7 years. Laura Mcgrath had worked there as a server for 25 years. Bryan and Laura helped me understand why everyone was so excited about The Buttery.

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By popular demand, chef and restaurateur Greg Perez is back for more.

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Someone once called Greg Perez the Forrest Gump of restaurants. From Rich & Charlie’s, to his award-winning Painted Plates, to the Grateful Inn, it was indeed, “Run, Greg, Run!” from one project to the next.

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Monarch opened for business on Manchester Road in Maplewood in 2003, and thrived for almost 10 years. Aaron Teitelbaum and Jeff Orbin talked with me about their restaurant at Teitelbaum’s Kingside Diner in Clayton.

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La Tropicana Market was an institution on the corner of Lindenwood and Hereford for over 30 years. Rafael Trabanco told me his family’s story when I talked with him at his longtime office on South Broadway.

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Gregg Mosberger ran his own catering company – Gregory’s Creative Cuisine – for 34 years. But Mosberger began his career as a dishwasher at Richard Perry’s Jefferson Avenue Boarding House.

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Culpeppers was an institution in the St. Louis area for almost 80 years. Its Central West End location was the first to open and had the longest run.

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Louis Fiddleman operated Louie’s Delicatessen from 1955 to 1987. I talked with Alan Fiddleman about his father over a noisy breakfast.

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Harry Giessow owned The Candlelight House on Clayton Road. He and his son, Gary, owned the Howard Johnson’s in Kirkwood and the Howard Johnson’s on Clayton Road, which Gary morphed into Layton’s. I talked with Gary and his wife Lil at their home in Ladue.

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Michael Del Pietro has opened more restaurants than he wishes to remember. I talked with Michael about growing up in his parents’ restaurant, training at The Culinary Institute of America, and opening his first restaurant, Portabella.

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Ken Bland may be less well known that some of his restaurants, such as The Leather Bottle, Cork ‘n Cleaver and Dierdorf & Hart’s. I talked with Ken about his restaurant career at his home in Clayton.

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Kopperman’s was an institution in the Central West End for over thirty years. Myron Kopperman passed away in 2019. But Sanford Rich is still alive and well and living in Miami.

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Mel and Alan Sherman opened Sherman Brothers Deli in 1963. From its longtime home at Olive & Mosley to the Pastrami Joynt to Shermies, the family business thrived for almost 40 years. Mel Sherman’s sons, Mark and Stuart, shared the story of knishes and corned beef and more.

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David Slay is an acclaimed, award-winning chef, with four thriving California restaurants along the southern coast of Santa Monica Bay, and a vineyard nestled in the hills near Santa Barbara.

But David’s roots are in St. Louis. David was in town for the weekend, and he told me the story of how he built a successful restaurant career on the foundation of a healthy dose of failure.

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You may not have heard of Scoville’s Cafe. I hadn’t. It was a fixture in the National Stock Yards in National City, a suburb of East St. Louis, from the late 1920’s until 1988. Someone suggested I learn about it from 90-year-old Jack Scoville, which I did at his home in Belleville. I was glad I did.

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Mickey Garagiola’s younger brother Joe was a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and went on to host NBC's "Today" show and broadcast baseball on NBC's "Game of the Week."

But Mickey didn't stand in his brother's shadow. He made a name for himself as a waiter at Ruggeri's and as the ring announcer on Wrestling at the Chase.

Martina Garagiola Bettlach & Bob Garagiola told me their father’s story.

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Julius Hunter was born and raised in St. Louis. He graduated from Sumner High School and taught school for a year or two after graduating from Harris Teachers College.

In 1970, Julius secured a job in television with Channel 5 news. He moved to Channel 4 in 1974, and a year later was teamed with Steve Schiff, anchoring the 6 and 10 o'clock weekday news.

By the mid 1980s, Channel 4 news became the highest rated local newscast of any CBS-owned and operated station. Julius Hunter was on the top of his game. And then he decided to open a restaurant.

I talked with Julius at his home in University City.

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