Short Orders

Written by CHERYL BAEHR

Four years ago, Jose and Zamir Jahic opened J’s Pitaria (91 Concord Plaza Shopping Center, Affton; 314270-8005) as a tiny storefront off Morgan Ford in the shadow of the Bevo Mill. Now, the husband-and-wife team have not only moved into a larger location in Affton but are getting ready to launch a line of frozen pita that will bring the traditional Bosnian dish into the home kitchens of people throughout St. Louis and beyond.

“We wanted to give back to our customers with the frozen line,” says Josi Jahic. “We’ve always wanted to because we’ve had so many requests from people who want to bake it at home, but we couldn’t do it. Now, we have this new technology that freezes the pita in seconds, so we started thinking about how we could do it.”

The new frozen line features four different types of pita — meat, cheese, potato, and spinach and cheese — that can be ordered through the J’s Pitaria website and picked up at the restaurant. Guests can also order the frozen line onsite and take the products home immediately, depending on availability. Curbside pickup will also be accommodated.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has presented many challenges to J’s Pitaria, Jahic says that it forced her and Zamir to get creative in order to sustain their business. Over the course of the past year, she found herself cooking a lot at home, and she began experimenting with the frozen pita line with the help of her large family. Through trial and error, she figured out the perfect combination of cooking time and oven temperature that recreated the fresh-baked pita experience she and her husband produce in the restaurant. Confident that they could give their customers a high-quality product, they decided to run with it.

“Being in a crisis was nothing new for us,” Jahic says. “We’ve been through war, moving here, learning a new culture and a new language. Having gone through that really helped us not get into panic mode, but into a mode where we said, ‘OK, this is a crisis. Let’s figure out what we can do to make it better.’ We have to figure out how to do things differently and how to adjust to the new normal.”

Though that new normal is currently limited to the in-store pickup option, Jahic hopes that J’s Pitaria can expand to grocery stores, first in the St. Louis area and eventually nationwide. She knows the demand is there; the restaurant regularly sells out of the pita and has a hard time keeping up because the dish is handmade. And because the pita is so approachable, she believe that demand will only grow the more people know about it.

“People think that the only people who eat this are those who have grown up with it, but that’s not the case,” Jahic says. “We’ve had an amazing response with everyone loving them because they are so delicious. Our vision is to get into stores here, and the next step would be to get this into stores nationwide. That’s our dream and where we see ourselves going.” n

self-imposed standards meant to guarantee that the customer is getting the best product possible by using the highest-quality raw materials. The brand has also revamped its packaging, committing to using more environmentally friendly materials in an effort to decrease its carbon footprint.

One thing that hasn’t changed — besides the products — is the family nature of the business. Pasetti’s two daughters and son all work at Volpi, and she sees it as her responsibility to keep that legacy going. Though she’s seen many changes in the industry over the years, she and her children feel a sense of excitement at their customers’ willingness to embrace their old way of doing things — something she hopes the Pasetti family will be able to do for generations to come.

“I think that the renaissance of people finding out about how good fermented and dried products are and how versatile they can be reinvigorates you and drives you to recreate yourself, the business and the products, and that constant improvement is part of the company’s DNA. It’s really motivating.” n

Written by CHERYL BAEHR

One of St. Louis’ most popular beer festivals is back. Brew in the Lou, a celebration of local and regional craft beer, will return to Francis Park this October.

The event, which was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic — is scheduled for Saturday, October 9, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Lily Pond inside the popular St. Louis Hills park. For $40 ($50 the day of the event), guests receive a commemorative glass and can experience unlimited tastings from local and regional breweries. Guests can also purchase a VIP pass for $100, which includes food and beverage offerings, as well as access to private bathrooms. The annual event is hosted by the Lutheran Elementary Schools Association, an organization of 34 Lutheran schools in the St. Louis area. Proceeds from Brew in the Lou go to providing scholarships and educational services for LESA students of all faiths.

Organizers have not yet announced the lineup of breweries and food outlets that will be on site at the event. However, the 2019 Brew in the Lou attracted more than 100 craft breweries, restaurants and craft artisans, and featured 45 local and regional craft breweries. Participating breweries included Square One Brewery, Schlafly Beer, Rockwell Beer Co. and O’Fallon Brewery. Other vendors, including St. Louis Distillery, Narwhal’s Crafted and Volpi Foods, were also at the 2019 event.

For more information on Brew in the Lou and to purchase wristbands, you can visit the LESA website, lesastl.org. n