RFT 📰

Sean Canan is not a normal person. He doesn't sleep. He is immune to memory loss.

In May of 2020, Dawn Wilson stood on the cusp of realizing her dream for her restaurant, Vicini Pastaria (1916 Park Avenue, 314-827-6150). Though she'd formally founded the brand in 2016 while working as a personal chef in Chicago, Vicini's roots went back even further — nearly a decade and a half — to her decision to quit her job as a molecular genetics research scientist and pursue her passion for cooking. It had been a long time coming, but as she prepared to welcome her first guests into her Lafayette Square storefront that May, she felt that she had finally brought to life the neighborhood pasta and prepared foods shop that her mind's eye had pictured for all those years.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Wednesday threatened to leverage a seldom-used state law to oust St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner from office. On Twitter Wednesday night, Bailey wrote his office is giving Gardner until 12 p.m. tomorrow to resign. If she "refuses," Bailey wrote, his office would file a writ of quo warranto.

True/False Film Fest is back: all the bumpers and buskers, panels and parties, field sessions, and filmmaker fêtes. And, ah yes — the films.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said today that Kim Gardner, "really needs to do some soul searching of whether or not she wants to continue as circuit attorney." Jones spoke briefly with the media at Bryan Hill Elementary School in the College Hill neighborhood ahead of a Black History Month event there. Her remarks come on the heels of a torrent of criticism directed at the Circuit Attorney’s Office after 21-year-old Daniel Riley struck a teenager visiting from out of town on Saturday.

The sky is getting creepier by the minute as a new line of storms rolls into the area. From crashing thunder to heavy rains, many parts of the St. Louis area are already seeing heavy storm activity. The U.S. National Weather Service in St. Louis says this large storm system brings with it “a potential for damaging winds and large hail with a few tornados possible.”

West County Center is going to get a little bit cooler: Golden Gems announced it will be opening a storefront there in April 2023. "We're going to the mall, baddies!" Golden Gems wrote in the Instagram post making the announcement.

The King & I is planning to make its move from South Grand to Richmond Heights this April. The restaurant announced in October that the move would be happening this spring, but now South City fans of the legendary Thai spot have a better sense of just how long they have to get in another visit (or two) to the iconic South Grand space for some Pad Thai, curry or spring rolls. "As of now, April-ish is what we're aiming for, so we should be operating on South Grand for a little bit longer," Shayn Prapaisilp told the RFT.

Donald Walker can feel Nunu in the Starbucks. He pauses. He stares off into the walls of the quiet coffee house in north county, his eyes full of water and a soft smile on his face, as if he's sharing a moment that no one else can see.

Within the last handful of years, natural wines have become a staple on the backbars of local establishments as well as on the shelves of wine shops. They've become so much of a draw of late that special sections frequently call them out, like at Clayton's popular provisions shop Parker's Table, which features a full endcap of natural wines just a few paces through the front door.

U.S. Barista Competition coffee isn't regular coffee — it's top level, out-of-this-world creative coffee. Take, for example, 2015, when Blueprint co-founder Nora Brady took inspiration for her signature cocktail from the name of the Ecuadorian farm, La Nube, where she sourced her beans. In Spanish, la nube means the cloud.

Guns N’ Roses is headed back to town, and this time the band is playing Busch Stadium (700 Clark Avenue). The band announced its next world tour today, and in addition to Europe and the Middle East, St. Louis made the cut along with 19 other American cities. The band has a long and complicated history with St. Louis.

The sense of gravity is particularly strong in playwright Anton Chekov’s works, including the layers of sadness and resignation that permeate Uncle Vanya. The smoldering production at St. Louis Actors’ Studio, adapted by Neil LaBute, is compelling and heartbreaking.

Big Shark Bicycle Company opened its fourth business in the St. Louis area at the City Foundry STL on Monday.  Located below the Alamo Drafthouse in a 4,100-square-foot street-level store, the bike retail and repair shop features “a diverse inventory of bikes and products, full-service repairs and professionally trained staff." 

Retail or experiential businesses longing for a space of their own might want to take a look at Cherokee Street — where the Cherokee Street Community Improvement District will choose one lucky company to take up residence for free. The offer is good for six months, no strings attached and no obligation for further payments unless the business chooses to stay on site after that. And it comes in a high-profile storefront, 2616 Cherokee, on the first block of Cherokee west of Jefferson in Gravois Park.

St. Louis City Sheriff Vernon Betts grew so enraged that an employee failed to support him politically that he boasted of demoting the staffer, repeatedly referred to him using racial slurs and said he could have fired him for his actions, according to audio obtained by the Riverfront Times. The employee has now filed a lawsuit against Betts. Deputy Sheriff Steve Chalmers, 65, was demoted from the Civil Process Servers Unit to the Security Unit in November 2020 after seven years as a deputy, according to the lawsuit Chalmers filed last September.

Opponents of cannabis have long claimed that legalizing it for adults would lead to an increase in teen use. They were wrong, according to a new federal report. Cannabis use among teenagers dropped from 2019 to 2021, hitting the lowest number in at least a decade.

A man accused of stealing catalytic converters met an unfortunate fate when he tried to evade capture in St. Francois County. The county sheriff's department says a police dog caught Kevin Moore of Desloge, Missouri, "by the jewels" after Moore tried to run away from police yesterday. Early yesterday morning, officers with the Park Hills Police Department and St. Francois County Sheriff's Office converged on an area frequented by a catalytic converter thief in Park Hills, according to a St. Francois County Sheriff's Department Facebook post.

Four months after temporarily moving to University City, Taqueria Morita will return to the Cortex Innovation District in April. Taqueria Morita opened outside of Michael and Tara Gallina's upscale Cortex restaurant Vicia (4260 Forest Park Avenue, 314-553-9239) last May. The concept became a go-to spot for regional Mexican cuisine, but winter caused the outdoor restaurant to relocate to Winslow's Table in University City.

St. Louis culinary wunderkid Juwan Rice started his own catering company when he was in high school. In 2021, he founded J Rice Spice, a spice and sauce company. More recently, he's hosted a series of pop-up dining experiences.