Lost Tables

Kemoll’s, one of the oldest family-owned restaurants in St. Louis, became a Lost Table this past New Year’s Eve. Owner Mark Cusumano made that decision. Did you enjoy this episode?

Adalaide Balaban left her restaurant and the Central West End over 30 years ago. But from her home in Silsbee, Texas, the memories came flooding back.Did you enjoy this episode?

John Clark opened a bar near St. Louis University right out of college. This spawned a restaurant career that would lead to Lucius Boomer, Clamorgan, Jake's Steaks and more.Did you enjoy this episode?

Bob and Barbara Suberi opened Bobby's Creole in University City in 1977. Two years later, they moved across the street, and six years after that, they closed their restaurant and went sailing.In 1997, the Suberis resurrected their restaurant as Bobby’s in Maplewood. It thrived until 2003, when they closed up shop and bought a blueberry farm in Alabama.Did you enjoy this episode?

Mary Rose Del Pietro grew up in the restaurant business. Her parents, Roy and Nina Russo, opened Rossino’s in 1954. Mary Rose and her husband, Mike, opened their own restaurant, Del Pietro’s, in 1976. I talked with Mary Rose, the 81-year-old matriarch of the Del Pietro family, this past July.Did you enjoy this episode?

Chris LaRocca opened his Crushed Red concept in 2012. The road to that opening started at his father’s restaurant, when he was 9 years old, with stops at Crazy Fish and a host of other Lost Tables along the way.Did you enjoy this episode?

Paul Manno’s restaurant has been an institution in St. Louis County for almost 30 years. But Paul’s story begins long before he opened his restaurant in 1995.Did you enjoy this episode?

Along with his brother, Vince, he gave us Tony’s. He originated The Fatted Calf. He opened Anthony’s, one of the most elegant restaurants St. Louis has ever seen.For the first time, 91-year-old Tony Bommarito tells his story – uninterrupted. Did you enjoy this episode?

Ruggeri’s served charbroiled steaks, seafood and Italian cuisine on The Hill for almost 80 years. For much of that time, Henry Ruggeri Sr. was in charge.Henry’s grandchildren, Cathy Ruggeri-Rea , Joseph Ruggeri and Jim Ruggeri, tell the story of their grandfather’s iconic restaurant.Did you enjoy this episode?

The Pasta House Company is a St Louis institution. And while the Pasta House is not a Lost Table, we didn’t want to lose the opportunity to hear its story from the individual best able to tell it – Joe Fresta.Did you enjoy this episode?

Charlie Downs and Mike Johnson have both been in the restaurant business for a long time. In recent years, they’ve worked together on projects like the Sugar Fire Smokehouse and the Hi-Pointe Drive-Inn. Their resumes, apart and together, are a walk through St. Louis restaurant history. We talked about that history over coffee and pastries.Did you enjoy this episode?

Kathy Sellenriek has had a long career as a teacher in the Rockwood School District. But, before that, she had a long career in the restaurant business at The Lettuce Leaf and The Fatted Calf. This is her story.Did you enjoy this episode?

We’ve expanded our format a bit. In this episode, Ed and Margie Imo tell the story of Imo’s Pizza. No, Imo’s is not a Lost Table. But Ed is 88 and Margie is 82, and we wanted to hear their story before they were lost.Did you enjoy this episode?

Andy and Paula Ayers opened Riddles Restaurant on Natural Bridge in the city of Bel-Nor in 1980. Here’s their story.Did you enjoy this episode?

Margie Price was one of the early Bunnies at the St. Louis Playboy Club. She would marry one of the owners and lead a storied life. But Margie’s life did not start out that way.Did you enjoy this episode?

This episode is a little different. It’s not about an owner or a chef or a single restaurant. It’s about Margaret Kelly, whose 40-year career in the restaurant business helped some of those owners and chefs and restaurants to shine.Did you enjoy this episode?

Do you still miss meeting a friend for lunch at Cardwell’s at the Plaza? Or a spur of the moment dinner there, when you didn’t feel like cooking? Bill Cardwell! Why did you take that away from us?Did you enjoy this episode?

Lee Redel and John Rice opened Redel’s in 1985. According to Redel, their restaurant’s success was due in part to the trust they shared with one another. Forty years later, he trusted Rice to tell their story.Did you enjoy this episode?

The Sunshine Inn was a vegetarian restaurant in the Central West End. Its imaginative menu, which included the Garden of Eden salad and the Golden Lion sandwich, appealed to a diverse clientele.Did you enjoy this episode?

Cafe Natasha served Persian food in the University City Loop and on South Grand. But Hamishe Bahrami’s story started in a small village in Iran.Did you enjoy this episode?