Riverfront Times, October 27, 2021 by Riverfront Times

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OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

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OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

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MARCH 6-12, 2019

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OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

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OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

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THE LEDE

PHOTO BY THEO WELLING

“I look at the world and you look at all the pretty rocks out here, you know, and how complicated the animals are, and all I think [is] there has to be a creator.” JOHN ASHCRAFT, EDWARDSVILLE UNION LABORER AND AMATEUR ROCK TUMBLER, PHOTOGRAPHED COLLECTING ROCKS AT CHOUTEAU ISLAND ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17

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In Vino Veritas

hen husband and wife David & Jerri Hoffman announced plans to develop Missouri’s often-derided wine country into the next Napa, the media coverage tended to go one of two ways: uncritical enthusiasm or mocking disbelief. Largely obscured were the people of Augusta who’ve lived for generations among some of the state’s most beautiful farmland. For this week’s cover, the supremely talented Kathy Gilsinan turned to them and came away with a nuanced story of a town where locals worry that the price of badly needed investment will be their way of life. You’re going to hear more about the next Napa in the coming months, but I doubt you’ll read a better story of what’s at play. —Doyle Murphy, editor in chief

TABLE OF CONTENTS Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Doyle Murphy

E D I T O R I A L Managing Editor Daniel Hill Digital Content Editors Jenna Jones, Jaime Lees Food Editor Cheryl Baehr Staff Writer Danny Wicentowski Contributors Eric Berger, Jeannette Cooperman, Mike Fitzgerald, Eileen G’Sell, Reuben Hemmer, Ryan Krull, Andy Paulissen, Justin Poole, Jack Probst, Richard Weiss, Theo Welling, Ymani Wince Columnists Thomas Chimchards, Ray Hartmann Editorial Interns Phuong Bui, Zoë Butler, Madyson Dixon A R T

& P R O D U C T I O N Art Director Evan Sult Production Manager Haimanti Germain M U L T I M E D I A A D V E R T I S I N G Associate Publisher Colin Bell Account Managers Emily Fear, Jennifer Samuel Director of Business Development Brittany Forrest, Rachel Hoppman Director of Marketing and Events Olia Friedrichs Regional Director of Marketing and Events Kristina Linden

COVER Grape Crashers If wealthy developers manage to turn Missouri into the next Napa, what becomes of tiny Augusta?

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 www.euclidmediagroup.com

Cover design by

PAIGE BRUBECK

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INSIDE The Lede News Big Mad Feature Cafe Short Orders Reeferfront Times Culture Savage Love 6

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NEWS

The Mystery of USS Inaugural’s Missing Guns Written by

DANNY WICENTOWSKI

n late 2012, Jim Fleshman and his crew of St. Louis salvagers began ripping apart the World War 2 minesweeper USS Inaugural, hauling away more than 40 tons of steel hull designed to withstand Japanese explosives. “We worked there for three or four weeks, and then the water came up,” recalls Fleshman, owner of Fleshman and Son Excavators. “We were never able to get back to it.” Yet, with the help of the Mississippi, the Inaugural keeps coming back, if only for brief visits: The sunken vessel has reappeared several times over the decades, and it happened again last week, when the water level fell below four feet and exposed the ship to the elements — generating fresh interest in the St. Louis oddity. An admiral-class minesweeper, the Inaugural served in Okinawa and survived combat with kamikaze pilots; after it was decommissioned, the vessel was brought to St. Louis in 1968 as a floating museum. However, for the past 28 years, it has sat on the bottom of the Mississippi, about a mile south of the Poplar Street Bridge, rusting in the muddy waters which tore it from its moorings near the Gateway Arch during St. Louis’ Great Flood of 1993. While its location is listed on Google Maps, the spot may not be easily accessible depending on the status of the flood wall door near Rutger Street. On a sunny weekday, Riverfront Times journeyed to the remains of the once heavily armed, heavily armored minesweeper; after some searching, this reporter was able to find a rough path through the foliage to a spot near a sandbar and several large barges, the ship’s final resting place.

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Wreckage from the USS Inaugural is still in the Mississippi River, but the World War 2 minesweeper’s guns are long gone. | DANNY WICENTOWSKI Today, the 184-foot-long, 530-ton minesweeper looks like it was hit by an explosion of rust, which colors the top of the ship a deep, redtinged ochre. The lower sections have become nearly white with their time beneath the surface. Parts of the hull show signs of salvage work, but Fleshman and his crews aren’t the only ones to have cut away at the Inaugural: In its heyday, the vessel bristled with weapons, including a twin .50-caliber anti-aircraft gun on the bow that wowed generations of visitors during the ship’s time as a St. Louis tourist attraction. At some point after the ship’s sinking, the guns disappeared. “There were no guns on it when we worked on it,” Fleshman recalls of the 2012 salvage efforts. “But,” he adds, “I have seen one of the guns — at Cementland.” Indeed, the fate of the Inaugural’s missing guns is tied to the legacy of Cementland and City Museum creator Bob Cassilly, who spent years on an ambitious project to turn a 54-acre cement factory north of St. Louis into a landscape of towers and repurposed industry. It was John Patzius, as associ-

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ate and friend of Cassilly’s who worked on the Cementland project, who brought the Inaugural’s armament to the site — but attempting to trace the gun’s journey reveals a twisting affair, as its exact provenance is shrouded by the competing claims offered by the people who previously possessed it: In a 2007 interview with then-RFT staff writer Chad Garrison, an unapologetic Patzius said he had used a van to smash through the doors of a warehouse where the gun was being stored and “hooked the gun up to my rig and drove off.” Before that, the gun had been held by a local Navy veteran hoping to restore the armament and donate it to the St. Louis’ Soldier Memorial; before him, the gun had spent time fixed to the bow of a tugboat operated by the river salvager who was first hired to raise the Inaugural after its sinking in 1993. Cassilly himself said the Inaugural’s gun belonged to him, telling the RFT’s Garrison, “All I know is that possession is nine-tenths of the law, and that gun is on my property.” In an interview last week,

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Patzius, now 84, says he believes the anti-aircraft gun was donated to a museum; however, representatives from City Museum, the Museum of Transportation and Jefferson Barracks tell the RFT they have no records of the gun in their collections. It’s not clear if the guns are still on the Cementland site or if they were later moved. After Cassilly’s tragic death in 2011, Cementland closed. The site suffered a substantial warehouse fire in 2016 that halted efforts to continue the project. But Patzius still has dreams of raising the Inaugural. He bought the salvage rights and title to the boat after its 1993 sinking, but the 2012 salvage operation with Fleshman was the last time the boat was sufficiently exposed by the low river to do the job. Patzius blames delays on the Port Authority, and says he’s committed to finishing the work of salvaging the old minesweeper — but it all depends on the river. “I would still finish it if they would let me go to it,” Patzius says. “But see, two weeks from now, the thing might be underwater. And then you’re fucked again.” n

Cyber Security Expert Demands Apology from Gov. Parson Over ‘Hacking’ Claim Written by

RUDI KELLER, MISSOURI INDEPENDENT

cybersecurity expert targeted for investigation by Missouri Governor Mike Parson is demanding a public apology and payment for his costs for legal help and damage to his reputation. Shaji Khan, an associate professor at University of Missouri-St. Louis and director of its Cybersecurity Institute, made the demand in a letter sent last week by attorney Elad Gross to Parson’s office, several state and local agencies and a political committee that supports Parson. The letter demands that the “Missouri Office of Administration, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Gov. Mike Parson, Commissioner Margie Vandeven, and Uniting Missouri PAC release separate, detailed and public statements apologizing to Professor Khan, to be shared on their respective websites, with Missouri and national press outlets, on social media sites, and to anyone the parties communicated their false accusations.” Khan was a source used by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for a story about how a Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website allowed access to the Social Security numbers of educators. The letter states that he helped the newspaper after it agreed to withhold any story about the security issue until it had been addressed and teacher Social Security numbers were no longer at risk of public exposure. “Professor Khan is a respected expert in his field who has repeatedly performed valuable services for the state of Missouri and its residents,” Gross wrote. “The state, its officials and their political operations have no grounds to defame and harass a private citizen who helped protect Missouri teachers.” The letter is a “litigation hold request and demand,” sent by attorneys to potential targets of a lawsuit to alert them to preserve their records or face sanctions in court. On the day the Post-Dispatch’s story was published, Parson called reporters to his office to read a statement accusing the reporter and those who helped

Shaji Khan, associate professor of information technology at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. | AUGUST JENNEWEIN/UMSL CAMPUS PHOTOGRAPHER verify what was found of being hackers who should be criminally prosecuted. He did not take any questions. “This administration is standing up against any and all perpetrators who attempt to steal personal information and harm Missourians,” Parson said. In the October 21 letter, Gross demanded that “Gov. Mike Parson convenes and livestreams another press conference to apologize to Professor Khan, sharing and maintaining the video on the governor’s social media pages.” Parson’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the letter. In his statement earlier this month, Parson directed the Missouri State Highway Patrol to investigate and said he had notified Cole County Prosecuting Attorney Locke Thompson. On October 15, Khan got a call from the patrol, the letter states. “The trooper confirmed that the interview regarded statements Professor Khan had made to the St. Louis PostDispatch,” Gross wrote. Gross told The Independent that Khan called him and the interview has not yet taken place. “The interview will be happening,” he said last week. “We are cooperating and it looks like it will happen on Monday.” Asked for information about the status of the investigation, patrol spokesman Lt. Eric Brown wrote that it is ongoing and could not comment further. Thompson told The Independent last week that the timeline for the inquiry is in the hands of the patrol. Parson’s call for prosecution of the reporter and others involved in the story

was met with bipartisan criticism. “Journalists responsibly sounding an alarm on data privacy is not criminal hacking,” tweeted state Rep. Tony Lovasco, a Republican who has worked in software development. House Democratic Leader Crystal Quade of Springfield said the problem is poor security on state websites, not journalists who identify a weakness. The Social Security numbers were available through a publicly accessible website designed to allow users to check the credentials of educators. The website is currently disabled. To verify that the numbers were being used in a way that made them available to anyone who visited the site, Gross wrote, Khan took three standard steps for checking security after he reached the webpage. It did not require a log-in to search the database of credentialed educators. Khan viewed the source code and identified “a suspicious piece” of the code. He copied it to a text document, revealing the Social Security number of the individual found in the search. “This entire process could be completed by anyone in a matter of just a few minutes,” Gross wrote. “None of the data was encrypted, no passwords were required, and no steps were taken by the state of Missouri to protect the Social Security numbers of its teachers that the state automatically sent to every website visitor.” Uniting Missouri, a political action committee that backs Parson’s agenda, pushed back against criticism of Parson’s demand for prosecution. The PAC produced a video attacking the Post-Dispatch and stating Parson is “committed

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to bring to justice anyone who obtained private information.” Gross’ letter states that Uniting Missouri has purchased two blocks of advertising on Facebook to promote the ad, targeting as many as 15,000 Missourians. He is demanding the PAC produce “another video apologizing to Professor Khan and purchases advertisements to promote that video as the organization is currently doing with its defamatory and false video.” John Hancock, chairman of Uniting Missouri, declined to comment on the letter. Along with Parson’s office, Uniting Missouri and the education department, the letter was sent to the Office of Administration, Thompson, the patrol, Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Victory Enterprises, which manages the Uniting Missouri Facebook account. Along with the demands for an apology, the letter includes a legal analysis that accuses the education department of violating a law barring agencies from disclosing Social Security numbers of people in public databases. The law against hacking that Parson cited as a basis for prosecution requires intent to steal the information and does not make it a crime to report a data security issue, Gross wrote. “The government’s threat of prosecution would have a chilling effect on people of ordinary firmness and has had such an effect on Professor Khan,” Gross wrote. “Professor Khan has already had to suspend his normal interactions with members of the press. Additionally, the government’s retaliatory actions will deter other Missourians from assisting the state when they uncover wrongdoing.” n

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

Catholic Supply Killer Pleads Guilty Written by

DANNY WICENTOWSKI

early three years after Thomas Bruce attacked three women at a Catholic Supply store in Ballwin — fatally shooting one who refused his sexual assault — the 56-yearold Jefferson County man has been sentenced to life in prison. Bruce pleaded guilty last week in St. Louis County to a single count of first degree murder. As part of the plea, the Jefferson ounty rosecutor’s ffice is dismissing a pending case involving a separate, but similarly brutal attack and sexual assault on a woman in her home near Hillsboro. In the Jefferson County incident from September 27, 2018, Bruce was accused of attacking a 77-year-old woman with whom he had no previous connections, initially leaving investigators with

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Thomas Bruce is never getting out of prison. | ST. LOUIS COUNTY POLICE few leads to follow. Then, on November 19, less than two months after the attack in Jefferson County, Bruce walked into the Catholic Supply location in Ballwin, where he forced three women into a back room, ordered them to perform sex acts, and then shot Jamie Schmidt, who police believe refused him.

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After Bruce’s arrest in the Catholic Supply attack, police said the earlier victim in Jefferson County recognized him from his mugshot and contacted authorities. In January 2019, prosecutors filed new charges against Bruce for burglary, kidnapping, assault, sexual abuse and harassment. In a statement, Jefferson County

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prosecuting attorney Trisha Stefanki said that she and her staff had consulted with the victim before Bruce’s guilty plea. “The Victim, as well as our office, agree that having a guaranteed life sentence without the possibility of parole is a satisfactory resolution,” Stephanski said. “The Victim is ready to move on and not discuss the incident any further.” Before taking the plea deal, Bruce had been scheduled to face trial next week. He is not eligible for parole. In a press release from the St. Louis County prosecutor, Bruce was described as preparing “a handwritten statement” for his sentencing hearing, but he decided not to read it. “These victims and their loving families are my heroes,” St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said in a statement. “Though they were well prepared to tell their stories in open court, we are relieved that this guilty plea brings them some closure now — and the knowledge that this predator will spend the rest of his life in prison with no possibility of parole. I thank them, the detectives and our trial team for their hard work in bringing justice.” n

THE BIG MAD This Is Exhausting Schmitt breaks wind, Hawley podcasts and Missouri makes the wrong choice Compiled by

DANIEL HILL BREAKIN’ WIND: Here’s a tip from a long, careful study: Politicians do some of their dumbest work while wearing windbreakers. Something about the combination of blue nylon and an official-looking logo emboldens the lamest of bureaucrats to act as if they’ve just kicked down the door of the Zodiac Killer’s apartment. Add some yellow block lettering on the back of said windbreaker and you’re in for some real mess. So when Eric Schmitt popped up more than 900 miles from Jefferson City in El Paso, Texas, wearing blue jeans and a jacket with “ATTORNEY GENERAL” on the back, you knew it was about to go down. Schmitt, who is currently losing a Republican primary against fellow windbreaker devotee Eric Greitens, appeared alongside Texas’ attorney general (who was at least in the right state) to demand that President Biden finish that border wall that Mexico was going to pay for. Schmitt says a border agent told him cartels have connections in Missouri, so yeah. Schmitt claims it wasn’t a campaign stunt, and if you doubt his sincerity, you can see him in a video montage posted to both his campaign and official Twitter accounts. There is Schmitt in all the poses of a serious and competent man: talking to real-life border agents, shaking hands with a border agent, walking with a border agent, arms crossed and nodding at a border agent, hands on hips, sitting in an SUV with a border agent. Still not impressed? In the video, Schmitt breaks down Biden’s refusal to act. “There’s money — $3.8 billion — appropriated for it. He refuses to actually spend it on a wall.” Refuses to spend $3.8 billion on a wall. Windbreaker Schmitt cannot believe it. NOW THIS IS PODCASTING: There’s something both sickly and sweet about the newest podcast on the block, This Is Life. Hosted by Missouri’s premiere seditionist, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, and his wife, attorney Erin Hawley, the show’s October 25 debut saw Hawley introducing the project with the caveat: “This isn’t really a podcast about politics.” Indeed, the 27-minute episode features hardly a shred of the stuff, aside from it being

the backdrop to their cozy family dynamics. Instead, Hawley summarized the podcast’s theme as one of recognizing America’s “hour of need” — and what America needs, of course, is more Josh Hawley. Sure, he doesn’t come out and say it, cloaking his rapacious side while waxing righteously about the need for people to treasure their families, “to live for the things that are going to last.” But the most telling part of This Is Life’s debut episode actually comes at the very end: In the last seconds, after the outro has already faded, a different voice comes on to clarify exactly what things Hawley is hoping to make last. The voice says: “Paid for by Josh Hawley for Senate.” That’s life, alright.

Fact: Politicians do some of their dumbest work while wearing windbreakers. CANDY CRUSHED: As Missourians, we are used to having horrible options (see: our U.S. Senate race) but for some reason, even when we have endless choices, some among us are still dead set on picking the worst fucking one possible. Yes, we’re talking about the fact that recent online shopping data shows that Missouri prefers purchasing, of all things, Milky Ways for their Halloween candies. This is unacceptable. If you’re buying Halloween candy to pass out to the children after they tell you a joke or whatever obstacle you make them jump through, and then you hand them one Milky Way, these kids fully get to TP your house. The size of a Milky Way in a Halloween-edition bag is equivalent to one Lego, and it’s definitely not worth freezing your ass off in the Missouri cold. These kids trek through miles and miles of neighborhoods in search of sweets — something they were robbed of last year, mind you — and all you’re going to hand them is a Milky Way, gone after one bite of chocolate-caramel disappointment? Why would you want that for the future of this nation? Why settle for a Milky Way when you can buy individual packs of M&Ms or Sour Patch Kids? When the night is done, you will have leftovers, that’s a guarantee. Do you want to overindulge in Milky Way bars? We didn’t think so. Do better for yourself, Missouri. Aim higher. Just for once, make the right fucking choice. n

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

GRAPE CR THE NEX If wealthy developers manage to turn Missouri wine country into

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OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

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RASHERS XT NAPA, what happens to tiny Augusta? BY KATHY GILSINAN

n a hot September Sunday in Missouri wine country, patrons lounge on a sundrenched patio at Balducci’s Vineyards in greater Augusta. Forests sweep up the surrounding hillsides, and though the tree leaves haven’t yet started to turn, elsewhere you can just see the hints of the seismic change coming to this small town of a few hundred people alongside the Missouri River. It’s in the new color scheme at the twentyyear-old winery — emphasis on orange — and in the eight-foot bronze bust of a Tocobaga Indian princess that now faces

the vineyard. Most of all, it’s in the name stamped on the monument’s pedestal: Hoffmann Family of Companies. In town, these pla ues are affixed everywhere, the namesake of husband-wife duo David and Jerri Hoffmann, whose conglomerate has bought and revamped large chunks of three other towns and now promises to plow upwards of $125 million into the Augusta area. Hoffmann at the gas station. Hoffmann at the general store and at the bike shop. Hoffmann on the new fences lining the road into town. Hoffmann on the bronze cowgirl in Augusta proper that prompted one resident Continued on pg 14

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GRAPE CRASHERS Continued from pg 13

to grumble, “I’m sorry, this isn’t the ild est we have never, ever, had cowboys. offmann on the bron e ioux Indians that another resident pointed out aren’t the right Indians for the area, which was once sage country. ome locals have started o ing that ugusta, a rural town where some families have lived for generations, is morphing before their eyes into Hoffmannville. hat exactly that means is still in flux. It’s been barely eleven months since the offmann amily of ompanies announced it had been buying up properties in and around ugusta, aiming to consolidate wineries over an area of 00 acres into a mega venture that a press release vowed would be the largest winery and vineyards in the idwest. In anuary the apa alley in issouri branding too root and wound through news stories detailing the company’s plans to install a national tourist destination in the uiet hills, off a winding two lane highway about an hour west of t. Louis. y summer, the company had purchased four local wineries, six vineyards and more than a do en buildings, and was floating plans to build more attractions: a 60 room luxury hotel, a golf course, an amphitheater. rolley shaped Hoffmann-branded buses were ferrying people between wineries issouri iver boat tours were scheduled to start in late fall. In news reports, the offmanns, who met in high school in nearby ashington, issouri, seemed psyched to be bac near home and bringing the promise of obs, tourism and revitali ation to a struggling town that had been on an economic losing strea for decades. Several local business owners enthused to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about how great the place loo ed. et for other residents, this was all a bit much. he “next apa notion in particular spoo ed people that famed wine region of alifornia, after all, had hundreds of wineries and welcomed millions of tourists per year. Sure, nearly everyone agreed the downtown could use some investment and new businesses, and the issouri wineries that rivaled apa’s in their nineteenth-century heyday had been decimated by rohibition and underrated ever since. But the Hoffmann plans seemed to eep getting bigger he proposed golf course had grown from

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PREVIOUS PAGE: Vineyards sprawl across the sun-filled hillsides of Augusta. ABOVE: Augusta Winery could soon see an influx of new visitors. | PHUONG BUI nine holes to twelve the envisioned river paddleboats were out, at least temporarily, and a 96foot luxury yacht called the iss ugusta was in. t a oom meeting with residents early in 2021, avid and erri offmann had left the impression with some that they hoped to preserve the town’s uaintness. ow ugusta townsfol were learning of possible hot-air balloon tours and a zipline from a hilltop winery, none of which sounded very uaint to them. “I’m not against the hotel. I’m not against any of the changes he’s ma ing in town, says o nn truc hoff, who lives on an ugusta area farm that’s been in her husband’s family for generations. “I ust thin it’s gotten a bit out of control. he worries that the pro ect is dividing a close nit community. Some residents see big potential benefits, in rising property values, new patronage for business, new sales tax revenues so they can finally repave some roads. he offmann amily of ompanies is already the town’s largest employer and vows to create hundreds more obs. ut others feel rapid change is being forced on them without enough consideration for the town’s culture, its uiet, the safety and capacity of the thin, curvy highway they all rely on. igh property values are great if you plan to move

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otherwise they ust mean higher taxes. any people agreed that ugusta needed revitali ation, but did it have to be this much, and move this fast? t the heart of the disagreement is the proper line between progress and preservation, commerce and community, in a place where everybody nows everybody and change has always come slowly, if at all. ost of all, the drama is about who gets to control the fate of a small town facing an influx of big money.

efore there was apa wine, there was ugusta wine. t least officially. hen the federal government started designating merican iticultural reas in the 1980s a way to mar geographic authenticity and uality ugusta was the first recogni ed apa, as issouri wine enthusiasts li e to point out, only got its designation eight months later. y then, both regions had been producing wines for more than a century, and bac in the mid 1800s it would’ve made more sense to wonder if apa could be the next ugusta than the other way around. erman settlers to the issouri iver region had brought with them their grapevine clippings and nostalgia for the ld orld, ultimately creating a ind of new hineland in a string of towns on the shores

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of the issouri. y the late 18 0s, they were producing roughly 2 million gallons of wine annually, and in their spare time also saved the rench wine industry sending over millions of hardy issouri rootstoc s to fortify rench vineyards then being destroyed by parasites. ver the next four decades, alifornia wines overtoo issouri’s in popularity, but issouri remained the country’s second-most important wine region until 1920. t which point, the wine industry that had saved rance’s was itself destroyed, not by parasites but by rohibition. ineyards burned wine cellars ditched their bottles and stored mushrooms instead. merica’s alcohol ban lasted only thirteen years, until 19 , but rebuilding issouri’s wine industry too decades, and it never recovered its former status. If not for the 18th mendment, ugusta and its neighboring river towns might have long since ceased to be uaint. s it stands, though, uaintness abounds. “It’s ind of a orman oc well throwbac , says o nn ilster, who heads up the local chamber of commerce. uring the annual hristmas wal , carolers sing in bene er hurch locals and tourists stroll the streets to admire the lights, chec out the glass blower’s shop and the hristmas mar et, maybe munch

Kim Siem and her husband Bruce live on a farm across from a Hoffman-owned winery. | PHUONG BUI on some chestnuts; this year, Glenda Drier, a self-described fifth generation farm gal from ugusta who now breeds Labradors, plans to dye her goat ertie green to play the Grinch at the event. If a storm comes through, people will show up “loo y looing at the damage and then wal bac to their truc s to get chainsaws and gloves to help clean up debris, and before long someone will show up with a roc ot of chili. “ his is a community where, if you get into trouble, everyone’s going to show up on your doorstep, ilster says. “ nd it doesn’t matter who you are. s for the wine, issouri has rebuilt about half its nineteenthcentury winema ing capacity and now sells roughly a million gallons of wine a year alifornia produces about 685 times that much. issouri has fewer than 200 wineries, and alifornia has well over ,000. issouri’s wine tourism is modest, its grapes obscure. mong wine consumers, apa’s hardonnays and erlots are standard fare. ut who outside issouri is tippling a hardonel or a orton “I’ve tasted some really first rate wines here, says oug rost, a writer and wine consultant based in ansas ity, who is both a master sommelier and a master of wine. It frustrates him that many people don’t ta e issouri wine seriously, if they now there’s such a thing at all. hen there is the land itself,

“ od’s country to many locals. “ his place is 200 years of history, of cellars being dug and wineries being built and vineyards being planted and railroads built and converted to trails, says an ur hardt, the founder of agnificent issouri, which wor s to conserve and enhance the natural landscape of the issouri iver alley. “ ost of merica does not have those characteristics. o the offmanns had grounds to see potential in the region when avid offmann, as he told the Post-Dispatch, was driving through in late 2020 and noticed a resemblance to apa. nd ugusta itself, where businesses had been gradually shutting down and moving out to the point that the town lac ed its own gas station or grocery store, was a prime target for what the paper called the offmanns’ passion for “cityma ing. he offmann family, having initially struc it rich through outsourcing and executive recruiting, had already made big investments in three other towns aples, lorida von, olorado, near ail and innet a, Illinois, near hicago. he formula was to buy lots of commercial real estate in a given community, then update, renovate and welcome new businesses. Yet the Hoffmanns had never attempted anything uite li e ugusta. rior offmann pro ects had centered on towns orders of Continued on pg 16

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

GRAPE CRASHERS Continued from pg 15

magnitude more populated, closer to existing tourist destinations or, as in the Naples case, already destinations in their own right. There were many reasons folks liked living in small-town rural Missouri, including family roots, natural beauty and solitude. The stars on a clear night and the changing leaves in the fall. They knew some change was inevitable. But they couldn’t help loving the place just the way it was.

round the time the Augustaarea public first heard of the Hoffmanns’ plans for their region, David Hoffmann explained in a company press release that his company wanted “to provide not only great wine from the beautiful countryside of Missouri, but to create a national destination similar to Napa Valley.” And while the comparison proved irresistible to urban headline writers and newscasters, among several people in wine country it conjured more dread than excitement. If the greater ugusta area, with its five wineries, was to rival the tourism industry in Napa Valley, with close to 500, that would truly require a transformation. “That’s scary to me, Napa Valley, when he says that,” says JoAnn Struckhoff. “Lemme give you a news flash, says Joe Brazil, the St. Charles County councilman whose district includes the Augusta area. “We don’t want Napa out here. Come on.” Chris Armstrong, the director of marketing for the Hoffmann Family of Companies, says the comparison has created the wrong impression of what the Hoffmanns actually want to achieve. “We’re not going to be bringing millions of people through here,” he tells the RFT. “It’s just logistically impossible.” Even adding up all the Hoffmanns’ winery purchases and plans for new lodging, “we’re talking about four wineries and a maximum of 100 rooms.” The point of evoking Napa, from the start, he says, has been about the quality of the wine and experience, not the quantity of tourists. But by the time both Hoffmanns logged onto a Zoom meeting in January to greet their new neighbors and explain their hopes, local suspicion had been seeded, and they have never been able to fully uproot it. Meanwhile, the physical changes to Augusta started happening quickly, and no one, not even the Hoffmanns, knew

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A bronze bust of a Tocobaga Indian princess is among the additions to the budding attractions. | PHUONG BUI the exact end state. Fences went up. Sculptures appeared. Buildings got new coats of paint, sometimes very bright ones, oranges and yellows and greens and reds. David Hoffmann at one point allowed that “there might be some discussion about the paint colors” and that he’d heard a single negative comment from a skeptic, who later changed their mind. (Most of the half-dozen or so residents who offered their perspectives for this story complained about the paint.) The bigger outcry concerned the fate of the trees at Montelle, the picturesque hilltop winery the Hoffmanns had acquired. Armstrong says some trees had to come out, because the roots were imperiling the winery’s deck, and that the unobstructed view down the hill is gorgeous. (The Hoffmanns had also initially planned to put their hotel there, before learning from Councilman Brazil that the location could not handle so much sewage.) But for Glenda Drier, the farm gal, the trees were the view. “That was the beauty of it, all those trees,” she says. “Now it’s just barren dirt.” The fact that the tree clearance lacked the proper permits when it started — St. Charles ounty briefly made the company stop work on that and one other removal operation while the paperwork got sorted, according to

OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

a county spokesperson — and that old oa s were sacrificed in part for a hotel project that never materialized, contributed to Drier’s sense that the Hoffmanns were steamrolling ahead way too fast. Tensions went on building from there. Armstrong, hearing from residents that they wanted more communication about the Hoffmanns’ plans, joined the town’s private Facebook group in March and offered to answer questions. He hoped to reassure residents that the Hoffmanns wanted to be good neighbors — they were restoring buildings, not tearing them down; they were invested in the community and planning to stick around; they weren’t ust buying properties to flip and abandon; in fact they’d almost never sold a property once they’d bought it. Armstrong was in the Facebook group about a week before, he says, nasty messages to him and even his family members drove him to leave — the online forum and even Augusta itself for two months. In a farewell message, he said residents should go to their town council meetings to make their opinions heard and join a text-messaging hotline he’d set up if they wanted updates. (The number, which he asked me to publicize, is 636-249-2023.) “I got messages from complete strangers in town ust mortified

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by what had happened,” he says. A few months later, another simmering online showdown boiled over into real life when townsfolk learned that the Hoffmanns hoped, as part of their hotel development, to create a spot for helicopter parking. Loud paint was one thing, but the idea of loud rotors disrupting the peace, distracting the elementary school students and freaking out the livestock was another. Even the Buddhists got upset. A member of the Mid-America Buddhist Association, a space for retreats and quiet contemplation on a hill in greater Augusta, circulated a petition opposing the helipad and got more than 400 signatures. At an August meeting of the St. Charles County Planning and Zoning Commission, several residents and fans of Augusta took the mic to denounce the plan, its “abhorrent” proposed location near a cemetery where the town’s forefathers lie and the possibility of hot-air balloon tours. Drier read a letter from a 94-year-old couple living directly in the proposed flight path who begged right on the envelope, “Please no helicopter.” Onto the hypothetical helipad, it seemed, focused months of builtup angst. “People come to Augusta because they want the peace and the serenity that came with it,” said Kim Siem, who owns a farm

across from the Hoffmann-owned Balducci winery. “I don’t understand how someone can say they came to Augusta, and they liked it — and then they want to change everything about it. That, to me, doesn’t make sense. At all.” The commission voted down the helipad unanimously, to cheers and a partial standing ovation; a gray-haired guy in plaid chitchatted with two bald Buddhists in matching gray robes and masks as the meeting broke up. By then, the Hoffmanns were already planning to back off, according to Armstrong. In a letter David Hoffmann sent to every home in Augusta, he apologized. “I want you to know that you have been heard,” he wrote. Siem hopes this is sincere. “I’m cautiously optimistic, is all I can really say about it. I’m not putting bets on anything.” She noted that the letter did not rule out helicopter tours flying over the town from the nearby Washington airport. In any case, her biggest worry remains traffic and safety on Highway 94, the two winding lanes of which already get clogged up, even without a lot of new tourism coming in. Armstrong says the plans are still under discussion, but that elected officials and oversight bodies regulate what the Hoffmanns’ company can do beyond their own private property. “It’s not just a do-whatever-the-heckyou-want-type situation,” he says. At some point, he adds, residents need to trust, or push, their elected officials to help shape the pro ect — their representatives have the power of the permit process, and as the helipad episode showed, they could be persuaded to use it. But Brazil, the county councilman, says that the Hoffmanns have never sat down with him to go over any kind of master plan for the project, and that he is more likely to read in the newspaper what they are planning. “Not that I’m the king out here, but I do represent the people out here,” Brazil says. And the Hoffmanns were prone to announcing things publicly, like, say, plans for a golf course, before even securing the proper zoning — though on the other hand, not announcing things publicly could just as easily lead to accusations that the Hoffmanns weren’t being transparent. Brazil describes himself as a probusiness, conservative Republican who believes in capitalism: He thinks it’s great the Hoffmanns want to buy local businesses. Like many people RFT spoke to, Brazil says Augusta needed investments,

and he cheered some of the Hoffmanns’ initiatives. The wineries in particular, he says, were seeing new customers. But “at what point do the scales start tipping to a monopoly where one guy has control over everything?” The defeat of the helipad has meanwhile left undisturbed a variety of other questions and fears, ranging from the aesthetic (those paint colors!), to the logistical where does all the traffic go , to the amorphous (where does all this end?). Milster, of the chamber of commerce, isn’t worried, and she’s happy with the communication and support she says local businesses have gotten from the Hoffmanns. “I don’t have anything negative to say,” she says. “We’re always in favor of more business, and improving business, and improving the area. ... I think there’s a lot of opportunity here.” Especially if the Hoffmanns’ investments can bring in new people to patronize local businesses, “I think that’s great.” John Alsop, too, a town resident who runs a construction company, says he’s glad to see tourists coming back. “It’s good for my town,” he says. “It was dead and now it’s coming back to life. Yes, there is turmoil in Augusta, but I’m certain you’ll find that in every town in America. I see what’s going on on both sides. And I’m actually pro both sides. I would like to see resolution; I would like to see healing.” He says he doesn’t know what that would look like, however. “I mean, how do you heal America?” Even with the differences of opinion, Augusta’s community spirit is intact when it counts. Armstrong tells me how, when storms hit the area this spring, “the town came together and reached out to us to see if they could help, to make sure that we had generators” so the wine wouldn’t go bad. The Hoffmanns’ wineries reached out to competitors to see if they needed any assistance. “We’re all part of the same family here.” And back at Balducci’s, with its bright-orange silo visible from Kim Siem’s driveway (“It looks like the top of a carrot,” she says), the big bronze Indian princess —Ulele, who according to legend lived in what is now Tampa — stares out at a strange new landscape. She’s not native to Missouri, but some things are universal. Her sculptor once had this to say about the expression on the woman’s face: “This work of art honors those lost to us. She is strong yet apprehensively looking towards the future.” n

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RIVERFRONT TIMES

CAFE

[REVIEW]

Family Fare Afandi channels generations of culinary talent into otherworldly Middle Eastern cuisine Written by

CHERYL BAEHR Afandi Sweets & Cafe 6997 Chippewa Street, 314-359-5144. Tue.Sun. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. (Closed Mondays.)

n the early 1900s, Jwamer Rasheed’s grandfather made his living selling pressed juices in Kurdistan until a couple of Palestinian bakers gave him a better idea. The two men had recently moved to the area and introduced him to a pastry called baklava. Made with walnuts, ghee and sugar syrup, the sweet treat was bound to be a hit in the local community, they informed him, and they offered to show him how to make it. As the elder Rasheed, Saie, perfected his dough-making techni ue, he also figured out ways to improve the delicacy by using pistachios and local honey. Not only was he able to make a career out of his newfound trade, he became immensely successful, launching a mini-baklava empire in Kurdistan and northern Iraq. His bakery was so famous, it became a must-stop for visiting dignitaries, earning him the Arabic equivalent nickname of “Mr. Baklava” throughout the region. Now, a little more than 100 years later, that legacy lives on at Afandi Sweets & Cafe, the bakery and restaurant Jwamer Rasheed and his wife opened three months ago in Lindenwood Park. Located in the former River’s Edge Social just east of the River Des Peres, Afandi is the stunning result of the deep culinary tradition Rasheed’s grandfather passed on to his seven sons, who then passed it on to theirs. Over the years, this heritage has morphed into a family business, with Rasheed’s father, uncles and two other brothers each either helping to operate the small chain of bakeries in and around Kurdistan or branching off on their own, like his father did in 1962.

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Afandi’s menu ranges from sweet to savory. Pictured: shredded lamb and freekeh, assorted salads, baklava and Arabic tea. | MABEL SUEN Early on, Rasheed embraced this birthright, going in with his dad to his bakery from a young age and learning to make dough at only ten years old. Rasheed went on to become a pastry chef in his own right, a career he carried with him when he moved many years ago to San Diego, and eventually St. Louis, which is where his wife is from. Here, Rasheed served as the pastry chef at the former Adam’s Mark Hotel in downtown St. Louis, then went on to be a bakery trainer for St. Louis Bread Co. After getting out of the business for a few years to work for the government, Rasheed decided that the time had come for him to get back to cooking, though this time with a restaurant of his own. Like his brothers who run bakeries in Kurdistan and Sweden, he felt that he wanted to share his family’s rich heritage with his community, and he set out to make Afandi, which roughly means “master,” a venue for showcasing their tradition. This is evident when you walk into the surprisingly cozy building and enter into a magical pastry land filled with every style of ba lava you can imagine. utfitted in brick and wood, the front room of

OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

Chef-owner Jwamer Rasheed. | MABEL SUEN fandi is filled with bac lit pastry cases, each stuffed to the brim with gorgeous sweet treats made with everything from walnuts to almonds to pistachios to cashews (Rasheed even serves nut-free versions for those with allergies). This, alone, is worth a visit to Afandi, but it’s only part of the story, which reveals itself as you walk into the main dining room.

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Here, a brick hearth, vintage woodwork and Kurdish decor set a warm scene for Rasheed’s savory dishes, which prove to be every bit as stunning as his pastries. He makes his talent known out of the gate with appetizers like kibbeh, a cracked wheat and beef fritter that tastes like a cinnamonand tallow-infused hush puppy. It’s so deeply savory, but there is

Noveen Rasheed serving Arabic tea. | MABEL SUEN a whisper of baking spice on the finish that leaves you wanting to take bite after bite trying to wrap your head around all of the flavors that are going on in the dish. Iraqi makhlama is another excellent first course. or this dish, asheed sautés ground beef and spices, places the flavorful meat into a cast iron pan, and tops it with two over easy eggs that mingle with the beef to form a rich, beefy sauce. You can scoop it onto pita, but it’s so delicious I found myself not being able to make it that far and just ate it from the spoon. Even the hummus is special at Afandi — so creamy and velvety and accented with a heaping amount of tahini. It’s a dish that, though you’ve had it a million times, you feel like you are tasting for the first. Rasheed shows off both his pastry and savory skills on the flatbreads, baguette length wood fired breads filled with a variety of toppings. The lahm b’ajin version consists of a flat, fla y crac er li e crust — what Imo’s dreams it could be — topped with ground lamb accented with tomatoes and onions and seasoned with both sweet and savory spices. Mint accents the dish, providing a pop of freshness that complements the lamb. The cheese manaqish, a slightly puffier, pita-like bread, is shaped into a foot-and-a-half-long form that resembles a canoe. he entire floor of the bread is covered in molten, salty white cheese that has a subtle pleasant funk to it.

Entrees at Afandi are one delight after another. A mixed grill of different meats features tender, marinated lamb, a lightly spiced kofta kabob made from ground beef and lamb, and shish tawook; the latter, made with marinated chicken thighs rather than cubes of breast meat as is often found, is shockingly succulent and stole the show. A platter of fried red snapper was another unexpected thrill. Here, the whole fish is dusted in seasoned breading and fried so that the skin gets the crispy, battered effect you get from fried chicken. Underneath, the delicate meat tasted as fresh as if we were dining on the coast. A lamb shank, served in a dish of its own cooking liquid, is a must-try dish, not only for the delicious fall-off-the-bone meat, but for the jus itself, a warm, comforting nectar that is so outstanding on its own, you wish Rasheed would bottle it up and sell it by the gallon. Rasheed could have built a culinary empire on that cooking jus alone, though what makes Afandi so thrilling is to witness the breadth of his talents — skills that don’t just come from a natural knack alone, but are the result of a deep heritage his family has cultivated over generations. He honors those traditions so fully at Afandi, which is why dining at this brilliant gem feels like such a privilege.

Afandi Sweets & Cafe Lamb shank ......................................... $14.99 Cheese manaqish .................................. $7.99 Iraqi makhlama...................................... $9.99

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MAKE IT IN STORES Schnucks Multiple Locations

Dierbergs Markets Multiple Locations Total Wine & More Multiple Locations Dogwood Wine & Spirits 15678 Manchester Rd, Ellisville, MO 63011 Randall’s Wine & Spirits Multiple Locations Arena Liquor 1217 Hampton Ave, St. Louis, MO 63139 A1 Liquor 3336 Pershall Rd, St. Louis, MO 63135 On the Rocks Premium Liquor & Wine 1976 S Old Hwy 94, St Charles, MO 63303 Friar Tuck Multiple Locations Royals Liquor Multiple Locations Dirt Cheap Multiple Locations Discount Wine & Spirits 3821 Elm St, St Charles, MO 63301

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OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

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T COUNT RESTAURANTS & BARS Sports & Social 651 Clark Ave, St. Louis, MO 63102

DB’s Sports Bar 1615 S Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63104 The Marquee 1911 Locust St, St. Louis, MO 63103 Ember 4121 Manchester Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110 Helen Fitzgerald 3650 S Lindbergh Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63127 PBR 601 Clark Ave #202, St. Louis, MO 63102 JP Fields 15 N Central Ave, Clayton, MO 63105 Mattinglys 8108 N Lindbergh Blvd, Florissant, MO 63031 Nara Cafe 1326 Washington Ave, St. Louis, MO 63103 Firebirds 1501 Beale St, St Charles, MO 63303 Hotshots - Multiple locations Traffic Jam 6 Westbury Dr C, St Charles, MO 63301

N K R E S P O N S I B LY

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OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

SHORT ORDERS

[ S T. L O U I S S TA N D A R D S ]

Winging It Longtime mainstay Sportsman’s Park connects the history of Ladue’s dining scene to the present Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

ames Probstein cannot verify the urban legend that surrounds the chicken wings at his Ladue mainstay, Sportsman’s Park, but the rumors have been swirling for years. The word on the street is that Jackie Smith, the NFL Hall of Famer and former co-owner of the restaurant (along with James’ dad Norman), was the person who brought Buffalo wings to St. Louis when the restaurant opened in the 1970s. It makes sense; Smith’s football career regularly took him to Buffalo, where he would play the Bills and nosh on wings when he was off the field. s robstein explains, no one knows if it’s actually true, but the mystery is part of the fun. “Legend has it that he tried them in Buffalo and brought them to town,” Probstein says. “We can’t prove it, but when we opened as Jackie’s Place in 1974 they were on the menu not at the very beginning, but soon after. We still sell a lot of them, but we are known for other things now.” Even if Sportsman’s Park’s status as the fountainhead of St. Louis chicken-wing culture is untrue, it does not diminish the special place it holds in the city’s heart. Since opening 47 years ago under the name Jackie’s Place, the restaurant has become a beloved gathering place, not just for its immediate neighbors in Ladue but for sports fans throughout the area, thanks to its impressive collection of photographs and memorabilia amassed over the years. Probstein’s dad, Norman, had such a vision in mind when he happened upon the place nearly five decades ago. longtime hospitality professional who operated several businesses around town

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Sportsman’s Park has been a Ladue institution since 1974. | ANDY PAULISSEN in area hotels, the elder Probstein was looking for a standalone spot in a good location to open up a small neighborhood restaurant. The building at 9901 Clayton Road tic ed all the right boxes, and he was eager to sign the lease and get to work with the right partner by his side. That person would be Smith, who Norman was introduced to through the Cardinals football team’s then-owner Bill Bidwell. Norman, who knew Bidwell socially, was a regular at football games, often bringing his son with him to watch the action on the field and meet the players. That connection led to a business relationship between Norman and Smith, and the two men operated the restaurant together for four years until Smith decided to pursue other interests. Two years after that, Norman changed the restaurant’s name to Sportsman’s Park, a nod to the storied former home to both the St. Louis Browns and St. Louis Cardinals baseball teams. From the beginning, James Probstein was there alongside his dad and began earning his keep as a dishwasher as soon as he was old enough to work. Though it was never explicitly stated or expected of him that he ta e over the restaurant when his dad was

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Favorites include chicken fingers, wings and turkey chili. | ANDY PAULISSEN ready to retire, he knew, deep down, that he was going to be in the hospitality business in some way, shape or form because of his early exposure to it. “Growing up with my dad in the hotel and restaurant business, I’d go to work with him every Saturday morning,” Probstein says. “I never really knew anything else; I just assumed I’d be in the busi-

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ness, went to school and got a degree in hotel and restaurant business, and went into it with my dad, never thinking too much about it. I never took for granted that I would still be here at this place at this age, but it just happened. And I think of that as a good thing.” robstein finds fulfillment in operating Sportsman’s because he knows what it means to the com-

Timothy’s offers the quintessential fine-dining experience in Creve Coeur. | PHUONG BUI The Jack Buck wall is one of the touches that makes Sportsman’s so St. Louis | ANDY PAULISSEN munity. As he’s watched Ladue’s dining landscape change over the years — with mainstays like Busch’s Grove, Schneithorst’s and even the grocer Ladue Market closing up shop — he can’t help but feel a sense of responsibility to keep alive Sportsman’s Park’s legacy as a way to maintain a connection to the area’s history. He admits it’s a balance. Though he understands the importance of adapting and being flexible, he’s also learned over the years that people do not want things to change all that much and are more concerned about being able to come into a place that feels familiar. “We’ve had to adopt without fundamentally altering who we are,” says Probstein. “For years, I used to think we needed to freshen and needed new items, so I’d add those on the edges. I finally got to the point where I stopped doing that several years ago, though, because most people didn’t want things to change. They just want us to do what we do well and keep doing it, so why mess with it?” Sportsman’s has had to adapt over the past two years, though. Probstein notes the challenges presented by the pandemic, but he feels fortunate to have done well in spite of them. He credits his loyal customers for supporting the restaurant and its staff through it all, and he appreciates their grace and patience as he and his team have had to navigate the ups and downs of the past year

and a half. However, he is quick to acknowledge one silver lining. “ e finally got an outdoor seating area,” Probstein laughs. “It only took 46 years and a pandemic, but it’s better late than never.” Aside from that new outdoor space, Probstein doesn’t anticipate that there are any other changes on deck at Sportsman’s, other than a forthcoming Wayne Gretzky memorabilia wall curated by the Great One himself. It will join the homage to the late Jack Buck the restaurant has on one of its walls, one of the many reasons Sportsman’s is seen as a temple of St. Louis sports culture — and in turn, St. Louis culture in general. This, plus the good food, longtime staff and generations of regulars are the reasons for Sportsman’s staying power and why Probstein feels it will be around for years to come. “We’re in this great neighborhood and are just one of those oneoff restaurants that people like,” Probstein says. “At the end of the day, if you have a cozy restaurant that people like to be in and feel comfortable, and have good food and good service, that’s what they want. We make you feel like you are somewhere else — not in the real world anymore — and people like that. To keep doing that, you have to keep coming in every day and act li e it’s the first day that you’ve been here; you have to stay focused and not get comfortable just because you’ve been here for a long time.” n

[FIRST LOOK]

If You Know, You Go Timothy’s The Restaurant brings timeless fine dining to Creve Coeur Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

or years, Timothy Metz and his business partners Steven Manns and Sean Olson have made the restaurant industry their profession, working around town at everywhere from upscale restaurants and pubs to delis and other casual spots. However, even in their off hours, the three friends found themselves gravitating toward food and drink, whether going out to eat or hosting elaborate dinner parties where Metz would create elegant, multi-course meals. Now, they have drawn upon their decades of personal and professional experience to create Timothy’s The Restaurant (12710 Olive Boulevard, Creve Coeur; 314-7865301), the fine-dining restaurant of their dreams. “When Steven approached us about opening a restaurant, it just made sense,” says Metz. “We have all the components to make it work, and I felt like I was wasting my talents not putting it out there.” Timothy’s, which opened two months ago in Creve Coeur, represents a completely different food-and-beverage experience than the one Metz and Olson have been offering St. Louis diners at their casual concept, Pickles Deli.

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There, the partners have been serving classic delicatessen fare to guests at locations in both the Central West End and Downtown, drawing a loyal following for their fierce commitment to quality, even in such a low-key setting. However, fine dining has always been something near and dear to their hearts, a passion that was stoked over their many years in the industry. It’s even how they met Manns, a former server at the former Balaban’s in the Central West End who became their good friend when they were regulars at the iconic eatery. The three recognized in one another a love for both food and the industry, and exploring the city’s culinary scene and cooking and eating together was a major driver of their friendship. With extensive wine and service knowledge, Manns gravitated toward the beverage and front-of-house sort of duties, as did Olson, who has a background in hospitality management. That left Metz to do the cooking, which was exactly where he wanted to be. “I used to work at O’Connell’s from 1985 to 2000 and hung out with the waitresses there,” Metz says. “We used to go to places like Blue Water Grill and Cafe De France and all of the different restaurants around town. I really learned to appreciate food that way, and when I moved out on my own after a breakup, I really started cooking for myself. Anytime I had off, I was always in the kitchen whether it was learning to make Bolognese and risotto the correct way or handmade pasta. I stopped going out to eat as much because it was taking me away from what I wanted to do.” Metz is excited to translate what he’s learned over the years into the professional kitchen and credits his sous Continued on pg 24

OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

[BROWN DRINKS]

Open For Boozeness Switchgrass Spirits opens its distillery to the public this November Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

hree years after its founding, local distillery Switchgrass Spirits is ready to open its doors to the public. The north St. Louis-based company has announced plans to offer tours of its facilities, complete with a tasting the first aturday of every month. Tours, which are free and must be reserved in advance, will begin aturday, ovember 6. “We started presenting our products to the public in February of 2020, and were so busy that month with bottling and labeling that we weren’t in a position to do tours,” says Switchgrass founding member Sarah Miller. “We kept saying, ‘We’re going to do tours; it’s going to be great!’ But then COVID happened and we felt like it wasn’t a good idea to have a bunch of strangers coming through.” The distillery tours are just the latest development for the company, which is poised to take the whiskey world by storm with its unique offerings. Though Switchgrass is three years old, the lengthy lag time that goes into starting a distillery means the brand is just now at the point where it can fully showcase its mission to produce high-quality whiskey that will put Missouri on par with producers from more storied regions, such as Kentucky. “ istilling gives a lot of value to things like corn, apples and oak — things that are from Missouri that we wanted to give more value to and showcase the Midwest in a different way,” Miller says. “It’s not just Kentucky that makes whiskey. issouri is great and very favorable to alcohol makers because we have great water and oa that is used all around the world. You go to Scotland, where all the famous cotches are being made, or even California wine country, and the barrels are from the Ozarks. People know Missouri oak is great, but people in Missouri aren’t utilizing it as much as they could be. We are happy to be here and do that.”

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Switchgrass Spirits is eager to open its distillery to the public for tours and tastings. | KATE POGUE As Switchgrass distiller Nick Colombo explains, the secret to what he believes will be the brand’s success is how its whiskey is distilled. He and other distillers at Switchgrass have bac grounds in brewing beer, and apply their knowledge from that process to making whiskey. Known as sweet mashing, the process yields what Colombo describes as a more artisanal product that can be enjoyed with less aging than other whiskeys. “We make our whiskey differently than anyone else,” Colombo says. “With sweet mashing, you

spend more time and money babying the yeast; to do that is harder, but it tastes better sooner because it doesn’t have that burn that a lot of young whis eys have. As Colombo explains, sweet mashing, as well as doing batch distillations, makes Switchgrass’ whiskey taste fundamentally different than those made using other processes. He and his team also use a “cut to taste” method of separating out the head, heart and tail of the distillate, which requires more skill. “We know when it’s fresh-baked bread or cherry or apple flavors,

and we pic and choose every flavor that goes into the bottle rather than what the still gives us, olombo explains. Colombo points to Switchgrass’ one year whis ey as evidence of the method’s ability to produce a quality spirit. Though such a young whiskey should be harsh and unpleasant to drink, he and his team were surprised with how enjoyable it was to sip. “People are sipping on a 100 proof, one-year rye,” Colombo says. “That just doesn’t happen.” Now that Switchgrass is poised to release its two-year rye, as well as open up the distillery for tours, Colombo and Miller feel that the company has made it through the difficult startup period something that was especially challenging for their brand because of their refusal to engage in the common practice of selling other companies’ whiskey while waiting for theirs to age. With the new release, the tours and a series of upcoming cocktail classes on deck, Colombo, Miller and their partners feel like they can breathe a sigh of relief that what they wished for is finally coming true. “We took a year building out the building, a year distilling and now have our two year product, iller says. “ his ey definitely teaches you patience and that good things will come if you wait.” n

TIMOTHY’S

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chef, Will Mabrey, with ensuring his success. Mabrey, whose prior experience includes Herbie’s and Yolklore, has played a key role in helping Metz bring to life his vision for a classic, fine-dining menu that he describes as having a traditional, “old school” kind of vibe. It’s a style of dining he feels is not being done with as much frequency as it once was, even though there is still a hunger for it. By classic fine dining, Metz means a menu of quintessential New American fare, served on white (or in the case of Timothy’s, black) tablecloths alongside good wine with professional service. Dishes like lobster pot pie, escargots, New Zealand lamb chops and smoked-paprika-dusted scallops underscore his vision. “We didn’t want to make things complicated or have a menu that people don’t understand,” Metz explains. “For us, it’s more about the quality, which is why it’s not huge; we didn’t want to just throw something on there just to have it.” In addition to the food, Metz credits Manns with curating an impressive wine list of 160 bottles — his goal is to expand it to 300 — that have each been

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Timothy Metz, chef and co-owner, is passionate about creating an elegant experience. | PHUONG BUI researched and vetted for quality. Metz believes this, together with the food and the service, make Timothy’s the sort of upscale, yet comfortable, restaurant that is synonymous with timeless upscale dining. “We have this line, ‘Timothy’s, if you know, you know,’” Metz says. “Since we’ve

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been open, we’ve had so many birthdays and anniversaries. People have already figured out that this will be their special place. It’s been a great journey so far, and it keeps getting better.” Timothy’s is open Tuesday through Thursday from 4 to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 to 11 p.m. n

[FOOD NEWS]

The Magic Touch Balkan Treat Box introduces dinner series featuring “secret weapon” Jen Garcia Barrs Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

or two years, Jennifer Garcia Barrs has been working alongside Loryn and Edo Nalic at Balkan Treat Box (8103 Big Bend Boulevard, Webster Groves; 314-733-5700), making herself indispensable as their right-hand woman on everything from daily cooking to research and development. Now, she is stepping into the forefront with a Filipinoinspired pop-up event that will kick off the restaurant’s dinner series next month. The Good Magic dinner event, which will be held on Sunday, November 14, is a chance for Garcia Barrs to explore her Filipino culinary traditions at a much deeper level than she has to date. Growing up the daughter of Filipino immigrants in Los Angeles, she was exposed to the country’s foods through her father’s side of the family, but they were not a part of her everyday experience. Instead, she describes the culinary part of her upbringing as international, which gave her an appreciation for cuisines from a variety of different cultures. “My mom cooked a lot, but she did not cook a lot of Filipino food,” Garcia Barrs says. “I was exposed to all sorts of different foods since childhood, and I am thankful for that exposure. She cooked a lot of international foods, and we ate out internationally. My main exposure was from my dad’s mom and family friends and aunts and uncles, but it wasn’t an everyday thing — except we ate rice with everything. I don’t think a Filipino can live without rice.” Garcia Barrs credits that early exposure with sparking her passion for food, which led her to culinary school in LA and a subsequent career as a chef in both the Bay Area and Toronto. In 2016, Garcia Barrs moved to St. Louis to be near her husband’s family; at that point in her life, she’d been out of the industry for a while to raise her kids, but she felt an itch to get back into hospitality. That chance would come to her thanks to a chance meeting while she was having a solo birthday lunch at Union Loafers in Botanical Heights. “It was August of 2019, and in walked Edo,” Garcia Barrs recalls. “I didn’t know him, but I recognized him from write-ups about Balkan, and I’d seen a few weeks prior that they had posted something about looking to hire people. I just mustered up the courage to talk to him, and he told me to reach out to Loryn.” Garcia Barrs and Loryn Nalic instantly clicked, and before she knew it, she was

Jen Garcia Barrs will kick off Balkan Treat Box’s dinner series with a Filipino-inspired event. | COURTESY JEN GARCIA BARRS working the line at the acclaimed restaurant, soaking up every bit of knowledge that she could about Balkan cuisine. Though the pandemic put a pause on her job at Balkan — the Nalics had to make the difficult decision to furlough staff at the beginning of it — she made her way back to the restaurant to help with curbside, and eventually the full reopening. She’s thrilled to be back, and now that the Nalics feel comfortable launching their popular dinner series after a pandemicinduced pause, Garcia Barrs knows the timing is right for her to show what she can do in a different light. “I approached Loryn back in spring and told her I would love to do a pop-up collaboration with Filipino and Balkan food,” Garcia Barrs says. “She said, ‘OK, let’s do it.’ I originally wanted to do it in July, but life happens, so I’m so glad it’s finally happening. For the past few months, I have been bringing in different ideas, and the feedback has been positive.” As Garcia Barrs explains, the flavors found in both Balkan and Filipino cuisine are surprisingly complementary. She believes this is the case because Filipino food is a mash-up of various traditions, ranging from indigenous to Spanish to Chinese, and she also notices several crossover ingredients like peppers and paprika. Though she wants the dishes at her dinner to have an element of surprise, Garcia Barrs says to expect many wood-fired foods and a lot of umami, soy, citrus and vinegar. “It’s going to be Filipino foods with a Balkan take on them and Balkan foods with a Filipino take,” Garcia Barrs says. As for Garcia Barrs’ role as the person to kick off the series, Loryn Nalic cannot be more excited to shine a light on the person she describes as her right-hand woman and a huge reason for Balkan’s continued success. It’s validation that Garcia Barrs feels deeply. “It’s really special, and I feel honored and so much emotion being a part of this,” Garcia Barrs says. “Most of all, though, I just feel really excited.” n

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REEFERFRONT TIMES [WEED NEWS]

Promotion Commotion One year in, Missouri dispensaries still can’t legally advertise sales or discounts Written by

DANNY WICENTOWSKI

issouri mar ed its first ever sale of legal cannabis one year ago last week, but amid the flourishing of new businesses and prod ucts, dispensaries are still banned by state regulation from advertis ing even the most basic promo tions for offers like price cuts and daily deals. Jack Cardetti, a spokesman with cannabis industry group MoCann Trade, says the ban is frustrating to patients navigating the new market — and as a matter of pol icy, particularly challenging for dispensaries to follow. “What we have here,” Cardetti notes, “is both confusion and a moving target.” Back in 2018, Cardetti was among the activists behind the campaign that successfully placed a medical cannabis initiative on the ballot. Ultimately, more than 60 percent of voters gave the green light for medical cannabis to be added to the Missouri Con stitution. But the text of that con stitutional amendment isn’t the source for the ban on promotions. Instead, the issue comes down to the set of rules instituted post passage by the Department of Health and Senior Services, the state agency which regulates the cannabis industry. In fact, the spe cific prohibition on promotions is contained entirely in a single thir teen word sentence “ ispensary facilities shall not disburse medi cal marijuana as part of a promo tional event.” t first, the rule didn’t appear to prevent dispensaries from getting the word out about ongoing sales or discounts. Some dispensaries printed stac s of fliers to distrib

Curious about discounts on your favorite strains? You may be out of luck. | TOMMY CHIMCHARDS ute to patients shopping at their bric and mortar stores. or instance, one flier from a St. Louis dispensary, distributed in late May of this year, offered a set of daily discounts, including 20 percent off for veterans every Monday, and a Friday “2 for $80” deal on eighths of flower. s it turns out, such a flier would actually violate DHSS’s def inition of a “promotional event.” The department moved to clamp down on similar promotions this summer. In July, cannabis license holders received a letter signed by Andrea Balkenbush, the state cannabis program’s compliance director. As the letter explained, the de partment’s perspective on “pro motional event” isn’t simply tar geting special events outside a dispensary but encompasses “any activity, advertisement, or public ity designed to increase interest in purchasing medical marijuana or a particular product or brand of medical marijuana.” s first reported by Greenway Magazine, the DHSS letter offered a set of examples in an apparent attempt to illustrate the rule’s ex tent. Advertising price discounts? That’s banned, the letter noted, because “that would result in disbursing medical marijuana as part of a promotional event.” Holiday pricing is also out un der the DHSS ban. Whether it’s linked to April 20 or Christmas, such a policy “would also result in disbursing medical marijuana as part of a promotional event.”

What is not banned under the rules, the letter continues, are ac tions by dispensaries to reduce their own prices “without noting or advertising the reduction.” Also permitted are policies “es tablishing discounted pricing for classes of patients such as those designated as low income on their medical mari uana identification card,” the letter concluded. The letter appears to have had its intended effect. A perusing of the online ordering platforms maintained by five area cannabis operators — accounting for more than a dozen physical dispensary locations in St. Louis — shows lists of products and prices, and not much else. here are no crossed out prices or brand specific dis counts. (Anecdotally, RFT learned of some dispensary discounts dur ing previous purchases, but only through asking employees direct ly at the point of transaction. ) Earlier this month, the Riverfront Times reached out to DHSS with questions about the depart ment’s expansive definition of “promotional event.” In response, spokeswoman Lisa Cox maintained that the depart ment “has interpreted this rule narrowly using simple definitions of what promotion means in com mon usage.” Cox added that the department has not needed to pursue “en forcement actions” against violat ing dispensaries, writing, “At this time, the facilities with whom we have addressed issues have all ad justed their actions to remain in

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compliance with the rule. “Importantly,” she continued, “the Department’s rule does not prohibit a facility from commu nicating its current pricing, so pa tients will always be able to com pare prices among facilities.” Still, while DHSS may describe the rule as narrowly applied, the actions of area dispensaries show an array of efforts that could con ceivably be defined as “any activ ity” that increases interest in pur chasing cannabis. Dispensaries still use their social media page to discuss specific products and sug gested treatments for those suf fering from health problems like chronic pain or insomnia. Others feature interviews with dispen sary employees or budtenders discussing their favorite products. Some online ordering forms in clude percentage discounts for veterans or bulk purchases — of fers not entirely dissimilar to those on a flier of daily discounts. Meanwhile, most dispensaries maintain some kind of rewards program, offering discounts or products for patients who accrue sufficient “points through pur chases. Do those examples cross the DHSS line for a promotional event? It’s not clear. Citing dis cussions with dispensary owners, MoCannTrade’s Cardetti says it’s anybody’s guess. “From our view and the view of our members, this is a solution in search of a problem,” he notes. “We’ve heard from several mem bers that a patient will go in the front door, show their ID and their patient ID, they get checked into the system, go to the back of the store, and only then an employee would hand the patient a list of dis counts for the day — and even that runs afoul of the new rules.” To Cardetti, the rules seem to contradict the intent of the con stitutional amendment that estab lished legalized medical cannabis in the first place. “Only 145,000 Missouri patients and caregivers can even get to the sales floor of a medical mari ua na dispensary; the general pub lic doesn’t have access to this,” he adds. “If you’re not able to tell patients the effectiveness of certain products or prices, even in that controlled environment, that’s really getting far from the mission.” n

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HELP WANTED ST. LOUIS AND SURROUNDING AREAS

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MAY 12-18, 2021

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CULTURE

Spooky Season Scare yourself up some frightening fun with our roundup of Halloween events Written by

RFT STAFF

ejoice, wretched beasts of the night, for the most maskfriendly of all holidays is finally upon us once more, offering a plethora of opportunities for COVID-safe fun in the metro area this Halloween. Whether it’s haunted houses, pumpkin patches, spookily themed pop-up bars or festivals of fright you seek, St. Louis offers plenty of chances to get your scare on this week. Read on for a roundup of the events we found most frightful, and as always, beware of monsters.

The Fabulous Fox’s Ghost Tours If your mission this Halloween season is to be totally and completely immersed in the paranormal, the ghost tours at the Fabulous Fox Theatre (527 North Grand Boulevard) are just the thing. Guides come from both the Fox Theatre and the St. Louis Paranormal Research Society. The guides work as a team, with the members of the St. Louis Paranormal Research Society recapping the ghost stories from their investigation into the venue’s “hot spots” of paranormal activity while the Fox guides supplement the tour with history. Ghost tours explore “the untold history of the many ghost sightings and unexplained occurrences reported at the Fabulous Fox during its over 90-year history,” according to a press release. Tours have taken place all October, with two dates remaining this Saturday and Sunday. Times for the tours range from 12 to 5 p.m. Guests above the age of twelve are asked to provide a photo ID with either a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination when they enter the Fox. Face masks

The Darkness is a reliably nightmarish haunted house experience, which now offers escape rooms as well. | COURTESY THE DARKNESS and a brief verbal health survey are also required. If you’re bringing the kids along and they’re under twelve, they don’t need a vaccination card or negative test, but do have to wear masks the whole time. Tickets for the tour are $40 and include garage parking. For an extra $25, you can have your tarot cards read. The tickets will are available online at fabulousfox. com. —Jenna Jones

Halloween Pop-Up Bar in Central West End Corpse Reviver, a popular pop-up Halloween bar in the Central West End operated out of local cocktail bar Lazy Tiger (210 North Euclid Avenue), brings spooky fun Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. until midnight. Lazy Tiger’s co-owner Tim Wiggins created Corpse Reviver in 2019. Since the event was unable to return in-person to the Central West End last year, it gave Wiggins extra time to perfect the cocktails being offered. “We had an extra year to get super creative with the cocktails and make the experience even more entertaining,” Wiggins said

in a press release. “I naturally put a lot of creative energy into Halloween. The response to Corpse Reviver has been wild, and we are thrilled to have it back after last year’s pandemic hiatus.” Wiggins’ 30th birthday is also on Halloween, making it all the more reason for him to celebrate. The bar chose a haunted circus theme this year, complete with “crazy clown scare performers on certain days,” according to the press release. For each cocktail sold, a dollar will be donated to the ACLU. Menu items include gin-based Corpse Reviver #666 and a “boozy fruit punch” called “Creep in the Box” that serves four to six people and comes in a Jack-in-theBox. Another drink on the menu, called “Lust for the Juggler,” contains Kentucky bourbon, lemon, coconut mint and more. Popcorn will also be served to guests. Not only will drinks be sold, Corpse Reviver merchandise will be available for purchase. T-shirts, temporary tattoos and glassware designed by artist Dr. Slime are all up for grabs. Reservations for the event are required and can be made on resy. com. If reservations fill up, a wait list will be available in the event

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of a cancellation. The pop-up bar will remain open until October 30. —Jenna Jones

Fright Fest. | INSIDE THE MAGIC/FLICKR

Fright Fest at Six Flags For many in the St. Louis area, Fright Fest is a staple on their Halloween checklist. While last year saw Six Flags St. Louis (4900 Six Flags Road) introduce “Hallow Fest” as an alternative during the pandemic, this year has the return of the classic festival. Fright Fest runs Friday through Sunday until October 31. Haunted houses and indoor shows have also made a come-

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If October gets you feeling more cozy than spooky, try Eckert’s Farms. | COURTESY ECKERT’S FARMS back to Fright Fest. New this year is the Creatures of the Corn maze, filled with “dar corners, misleading paths, dead ends and creatures waiting in the depths, according to a press release. hree other ma es and haunted houses are available for guests to explore, as well. Seven separate scare zones are also at the theme par , ranging from pider lley to the lood an Lounge. ou can even visit ombieville if you’re feeling apocalyptic. he fest also has family friendly experiences for the littles who aren’t uite into ump scares yet. hree separate ma es offer adventures for young park-goers who can receive treats and tales as they travel the paths. iddos under twelve can wear costumes but face paint and costume mas s are not allowed. “ e are excited to be bringing back Fright Fest after a one year hiatus. he fear is calling and we are answering with some new scare experiences as well as adding more family friendly activities to the mix, ix lags t. Louis resident hil Liggett said in a press release. “ his is by far the most popular event we do at the par and we now that our guests are as anxious as we are to get their scream on. ood and beverage offerings are appropriately frightening and delicious. wo new items are on the menu here’s the rightening anta i drin , served in a limited edition souvenir cup and made with anta range, candy corn syrup, sprin les and whipped cream. eanwhile, the unnel Scream Cake featuring Snickers is also available for a limited time. ic ets start at .99. or times and tic ets, visit sixflags.com. —Jenna Jones

Eckert’s Farms Pumpkin Patches all is in full swing. ump in spice lattes, crunching leaves underfoot it’s all finally here. o add to the fall spirit, consider a visit to c ert’s ic our wn ump in patches. ig and plump or tiny but mighty pumpkins can be pic ed with a field access pass. he pass ranges from 2.20 to . 0 per person at the Belleville (951 South Green Mt Road; 618310-1962) and Grafton (20995 Eckert Orchard Road, 800-7450513) c ert’s locations. dmission at the Millstadt farm (2719 Eckert Orchard Lane; 618-233-0513) ranges from 2.20 to 16. 0. “ c ert’s is the perfect escape to get bac to nature and have a great time with family and friends. In recent years, the farms have become increasingly popular getaways for couples’ date nights, family outings and everything in between, hris c ert, president of c ert’s Inc., says in a press release. “ e can’t wait to welcome everyone bac for a fun filled fall season at c ert’s farms and loo forward to being a part of your memories for generations to come. Eckert says the farm works yearround to prepare for the fall. e also mentioned the organi ation hopes to bring exciting activities to guests each year. his comes with the announcement that the illstadt location will fire up bonfire sites with reservations costing for up to 2 people. uests can purchase the farm’s treats on site or can bring their own food to the bonfire. c ert’s also won’t allow alcohol to be brought to the farm but will sell hard cider or beer to guests that Continued on pg 33

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Alice in Wonderland-Themed Pop-Up Bar

The Lemp Mansion is definitely haunted, from the caves below to the ghosts in the sitting room. | PAUL SABLEMAN

HALLOWEEN EVENTS Continued from pg 31

are above the age of 21. Also at the Millstadt location are haunted wagon rides on Friday and Saturday night. One ride is free with the purchase of admission, but additional rides can be purchased for $6. Millstadt’s admission includes pick-your-own-pumpkins or apples, a twelve-acre corn maze, a pumpkin cannon show, pig races on the weekends and a petting zoo. There is also a 70-foot underground slide, mini-golf and a playground there. Pick your own pumpkins runs Tuesdays through Sundays until ctober 1. onfire rentals and haunted wagon rides run through October 30 on Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets can be bought at eckerts.com. —Jenna Joness

The Darkness Haunted House Spooky Season in St. Louis isn’t complete without a trip to the Darkness Haunted House in Soulard. Organizers go all-out each year to make you jump, make you scream and make you swear you’ll never return. The Darkness (1525 and 1517 South Eighth Street) is now open and the experience is being billed as “America’s scariest square mile.” The scare factory has just

been renovated to make the experience longer and scarier, too. From the Darkness: “New scenes include a Killer Pumpkin Barn, Haunted Conservatory, a Horror Arcade with pinball games, a new five minute offin scape oom, ombie am Basketball, Walking Dead Shooting ames, orror rcades, ide the lectric hair, and photo opportunities with the haunt’s living monsters.” The Darkness will be open every night through Halloween. You can visit for a short time after the holiday, too, because the experience doesn’t close for the season until November 6. And if you’re too scared to enter the haunted house, you can still get in on some Halloween fun with the family. The Darkness is also offering new Frankenstein and Dracula-themed escape rooms this year, too, which can be booked at stlouisescape.com. Visit scarefest.com to buy tickets to the haunted house or to score combination deals. —Jaime Lees

9 Mile Garden’s ”Haunted Garden” If trick-or-treating with your kids around the neighborhood doesn’t sound right, but staying home to watch scary movies seems a bit too Scream for you, 9 Mile Garden might have hit the sweet spot. This Sunday, 9 Mile Garden (9375 Gravois Road) transforms

for a day into the “Haunted Garden.” From 4 p.m. to midnight, the garden turns into a Halloween heaven with scary movies, trickor-treating and more. he first half of the day is for the littles, with the food truck garden putting a haunted maze up to explore. The Monster Squad plays on the big screen at 4 p.m. for those who’d rather settle in with a lessscary flic while still en oying the Halloween ambiance. Magicians, psychics and tarot card readers will also be able to offer you glimpses of the future or amaze you with their tricks. And if you’re trying to amplify your kid’s stash of candy for the holiday, the food trucks and local businesses will be passing out treats. Cross over, children, as all are welcome to a showing of Poltergeist on the big screen starting at 7 p.m. to kick off the adult portion of the evening. Adults will also have a way to cash in at the event and have fun this Halloween. An adult costume contest is happening and offers up $100 to the best dressed. Things will keep going bump in the night from 9 p.m. to midnight with a late night , as well as free spirits and beer samples throughout the evening. Gift card giveaways are also happening throughout the night. ntry to the aunted arden is free, and food and beverage are available for purchase. Find more information on 9milegarden.com. —Jenna Jones

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St. Louis loves a pop-up bar and many companies are happy to provide us with yet another reason to drink. An Alice in Wonderland-themed pop-up bar opened in south city on October 6. Described as a “Boozy Mad Hatter’s Tea Party,” one ticket to the 90-minute experience gets you two cocktails and an “ at e cupca e. From the press release: “Create your own liquid concoctions under the watchful eye of The Mad Hatter and expect things to get curious and curiouser. Dive through the looking glass and into a fantasy world where you will play cro uet with flamingos, paint the roses red and devour at e’ cake! Solve riddles and challenges just like Alice and unlock all the ingredients to create your own enchanted teapot cocktails.” Guests will also be presented with riddles to solve and will have an opportunity to paint the roses red. This party isn’t just for those who like to fall down the rabbit hole, though. If alcohol isn’t your thing, just let them know when you arrive and they’ll mix you up some fabulous non-alcoholic cocktails. The experience will take place at 5800 Gravois Avenue, which is the Lemmons by Grbic location. This wonderland does have some rules, though. You must be at least 21 to enter and masks are required in the venue unless you’re seated at your table. Visit explorehidden.com to grab your tickets before they go up in smoke. —Jaime Lees

The Lemp Brewery Haunted House If you want to go to a real haunted house this year, check out the Lemp Brewery Haunted House (3500 Lemp Avenue) in Marine Villa. Located just around the corner from the famous (and famously haunted) Lemp Mansion, the Lemp Brewery Haunted House offers creepy creatures in an area that is already known for its paranormal activity. Built in 1868, the Lemp Mansion offers haunted tours and other creepy activities year-round and is rumored to be haunted because of the many deaths, suicides and scandals that have taken place there over the past two centuries.

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The Lemp Mansion Haunted House is located inside the underground caverns in the area, which were once used to store beer and host huge parties, and where it’s advertised that “no one can hear you scream.” It sounds like a scary situation top to bottom, and the website even says that guests will come face to face with demons and will have to “navigate confusing mazes inside the pitch-black limestone cave.” That sounds terrifying just on its own even without ghosties. If you’re brave enough to try it, visit lemphauntedhouse.com to book your ticket. —Jaime Lees

Lemp Brewery’s ”Dinner Party From Hell” With the Lemp Brewery Haunted House open to provide you a ghostly tour, they’re also adding the chance to have a dinner straight from hell. A Halloween pop-up event, the “Dinner Party from Hell” has multiple dates this week where you can enjoy a meal while also fearing for your life. Hosted by organizer Monaliza Kidane inside an art studio of the brewery that is being converted into the event space, an eerie ambiance accompanies the four-course dinner with a promise of “delicious decadence” curated by chefs Sharon Harter and Mason Cooksey. he first course of the meal, according to the Dinner Party from Hell’s Facebook page, is thinly sliced butternut squash with a gorgonzola creme fraiche, micro greens and smoky spiced pecans. Midnight gelato made with almond milk with activated charcoal served over dark cherry granita is the second course, followed by “His Last Meal.” As the third course, “His Last Meal” features red wine braised beef over purple Peruvian polenta, served with honey glazed carrots and a red wine demi glace and gremolata. The menu is supposed to tell the story of two lovers, one wronged by the other. Dessert is a red velvet mousse with a chocolate cookie crust and a chocolate spider with webs. oc tails include a rum filled beverage titled Gut Punch, a ginbased Grave Digger’s Mule, the Bloody Domingo, made with tequila, and The Devil Within made from Amaro Averna.

As well as food, there will also be music and “dead dancers” to entertain the dinner guests. Lemp Brewery Haunted House is located underground, filled with mazes and is advertised as the “most haunted place in America.” Tickets for the dinner party begin at $100, with the event running from 7 to 10 p.m. The dinners are limited to 20 people a night. Dates are available for October 29 and 30. Buy tickets at eventbrite.com. —Jenna Joness

The Factory’s Michael Jackson Halloween Special It won’t be close to midnight, and it won’t be the fight of your life, but it certainly might be a thrilling night. The Factory (17105 North Outer 40 Road; 314-4238500) is hosting a Michael Jackson experience, complete with Las Vegas MJ impersonator Santana Jackson. Taking place on October 30, the experience is billed as a “Halloween Special Engagement,” according to the Factory’s website. Attendees of all ages are welcome and encouraged to participate in the event’s costume party, as well as a family friendly trunk-or-treat event. There will even be a Michael Jackson look-alike contest for those planning on dressing as the king of pop. And if you can dance like Billie Jean, there’s a contest for you, too. Cash prizes will be awarded to the best MJ twin and “Billie Jean” dancer. VIP packages are available for those who wanna be startin’ somethin’. Tickets for VIPs come in multiples of four, with table seating provided at the venue. A pre-show reception, commemorative glitter glove, early entry and a post-show meet and greet with the Michael Jackson impersonator himself are all included in the package. You won’t stop until you get enough, or maybe until you recreate that one scene in 13 Going On 30, so Santana Jackson will be closing the event out with a “Thriller” performance. You’ll learn how to do the iconic “Thriller” dance, as though you haven’t been practicing in your room since you first saw the music video. Everyone’s encouraged to participate in the performance. Tickets begin at $59.50. The Factory does require a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of its events or proof of vaccination. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Buy tickets online at thefactorystl.com. n —Jenna Joness

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OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

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SAVAGE LOVE DO YOU REALIZE BY DAN SAVAGE Hey, Dan: I’m a 33-year-old straight female, been with my husband for ten years, married for six. When we first started dating, I was an extremely jealous person. Fortunately, I got it under control with lots of therapy. But once I did, I started having fantasies about him hooking up with other people. We incorporated these fantasies in the bedroom — as a fantasy — and it was insanely hot. Anyways, I had a baby a year ago. It took some time for my libido to come back, but she is back with a vengeance. I’m horny all the time. I’m so horny that when my husband mentioned that an old friend of his who lives in another city was getting flirty, I immediately encouraged him to see if anything might come of it. With my blessing, he shared with her that I might be a cuckquean. (Sticking with “might” for now, as we’ve never actually done this). She was interested, and the flirting escalated. Now she’s coming to town for work. Having never actually done anything like this, I started to feel unsexy jealousy creeping back in. We decided that he wouldn’t do anything with her, just grab a quick drink. But she asked to have dinner with both of us instead. That changed the math and I agreed to dinner. But I find myself vacillating between titillation and anxiety. Am I there to watch or participate? (I’m bi, so it’s not out of the question.) They’ve already got a rapport going and I’m insecure about feeling left out. I’m writing because I don’t know how to process this cognitive dissonance. One minute I’m so excited about realizing this fantasy that I’m sneaking away to get myself off just thinking about it. The next minute I’m worrying about what will happen if I see him giving her more attention than he gives me. I don’t know how to make sense of what I’m feeling. Am I really a cuckquean if I feel this conflicted? Completely Confused Cuckquean When I shared your letter with Venus, the host of the Venus Cuckoldress Podcast, she responded with three words and one exclamation point: “The elusive cuckquean!” Cuckolding is a loving, consensu-

al, “one-sided open relationship,” as Venus likes to describe it, and most self identified cuc olds are men. It’s rare to encounter a cuckquean in the wild — that is, a woman who gets off on her husband or boyfriend sleeping with other women. I’ve received hundreds of letters over the years from men who wanted to be cuckolds, but only a handful of letters from women like you, . ou are a rare flower, a blac swan, a precious gem. And what you describe — that feeling of arousal and dread, titillation and anxiety — is so common among wannabe and even practicing cucks that Venus gave it a name (and a whole segment of her podcast cuc angst. “That emotional angst comes with a beautifully complex cuckolding relationship, said enus. “To be able to process and overcome damaging jealousy and turn it into something highly erotic is truly an emotional feat. It’s something I admire so much about cuc olds and cuc ueans. While cuck angst can be confusing, , it’s not dis ualifying. If your angst is manageable and the rewards are worth the effort — and if your partner can help you manage it in an affirming way you can get to a place where you want to reali e your fantasies. ut like, say, bungee jumping, CCC, it’s still gonna be scary. “One minute it can feel great and the next minute it can feel terrifying, said enus. “ ut your partner plays a big role in providing reassurance and support for you during all of this. I now of a wife who wrote a thoughtful letter to her cuckold husband in advance of her first encounter with another man. It was for him to read if his cuck angst became overwhelming, and it turned out to be exactly what he needed at that moment. e was able to work through the anxiety and make room for the excitement and thrill of thinking about his wife with another man. The partner of a cuck has to stri e tric y balance. ou’re going to need your husband to acknowledge your insecurities and offer reassurances to minimize them, CCC, but you don’t want those insecurities to disappear. or most cucks, eroticized insecurities are at the heart of the cuckolding/cuckqueaning kink — no insecurities, no thrills. nd while this can sound

like a lot of effort to someone who doesn’t share this kink (or have a kink that requires emotional prep and aftercare), the rewards — the experiences you’ll share, the connections you’ll make, the orgasms you’ll have can be great. “ ut be prepared for some ups and downs,” warned Venus, “because cuckolding is truly an emotional rollercoaster. And please: Don’t rush into your first cuc uean experience ust because this particular woman happens to be in town this particular wee end. “ a ing things slow is the ey to success, said enus. “There’s always room to move forward with flirty teasing but having to take steps backwards due to jumping into things too quickly is never easy. Learning where the line is between “good/bad” feelings (sexy jealousy) and “bad/bad” feelings (unsexy jealousy) takes time and not just good communication, CCC, but excessive communication. ollow enus on witter uc oldressV and check out her cuckold personals site at venusconnections.com. Hey, Dan: I’m a 30-year-old lesbian who listens to your podcast and reads your column religiously. I’m in a long-term monogamous relationship, and I’m very much in love with my girlfriend. I recently told her that I want to explore my kinks and my sexuality and may need an open or at least a monogamish relationship. It looks like she isn’t into that. Perhaps we are sexually incompatible and need to part, but what if I act on my fantasies (swinging, orgies, BDSM) and then find out that I’m not really into any of it? Then I would have given up an otherwise good relationship for nothing. I’ve never tried any of the things I mention, so what if they’re just things I should masturbate about? Mainly, I get very turned on by the thought of being fucked by a group of women wearing strapons. Sometimes I feel like I’m on the verge of a life-changing sexual discovery and other times I feel like I just want to stay home with my dog. Where do I go from here? Should I continue just masturbating to these fantasies or do you think that a glorious kinky future awaits me? Suddenly Thinking Repeatedly About Passionate Orgies Now

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ou’re gonna have to ma e your best guess, . If you think staying with your current girlfriend and not acting on these fantasies and never getting to fully explore these fantasies will cause you to resent your girlfriend, and your resentment will become a cancer that eventually kills your relationship — if that’s your best guess — then you should end things with your girlfriend now. ut if you wouldn’t be able to enjoy the experience of being pegged by a roomful of hot women because you’re filled with regret about dumping your girlfriend for something so “trivial” as a few easier-to-fantasize-about-than-realize sexual fantasies — if that’s your best guess — then make up your mind never to act on these fantasies. I put “trivial in uotes because I don’t think there’s anything trivial about sexual fantasies. ut I gotta say when you thin about setting these fantasies aside it’s not your girlfriend you see yourself cozying up with at home, , it’s your dog. ell, I’m here from the kinky future to tell you that you can attend an orgy or play party and go home to your dog afterwards. It’s your girlfriend you may not be able to have. ut is it your girlfriend you want? Or is it your dog? If you want it all, there may still be a way. ou say it “loo s li e your girlfriend isn’t interested in opening the relationship. hich means she didn’t rule it out. I’m thinking your girlfriend might’ve had a different reaction to your request to open your relationship if you had invited her along on these proposed adventures. Instead of saying, “I’d like to have hot sexual experiences involving other people on my own while you wait at home with the dog,” try saying this: “I’d like us to have some hot sexual adventures together — you and me, the two of us, and some hot women who dig us both!” Inviting your girlfriend to run around with you, STRAPON, instead of asking for her permission to run around on her, could get you from “looks like a no” to the ind of ualified yes that can become — with time, patience and open and honest communication — an enthusiastic yes. questions@savagelove.net @FakeDanSavage on Twitter savage.love

OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

riverfronttimes.com

OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

RIVERFRONT TIMES

OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2021

riverfronttimes.com

Riverfront Times, October 27, 2021

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