The owner of a University City restaurant specializing in Philly cheesesteaks was sentenced to two and a half years in prison Friday after pleading guilty to bank and pandemic relief-related fraud. Le Mell Harlston, 36, owner of Phillies Cheesesteaks, used two Social Security numbers that weren't his to apply for bank loans and lines of credit. And after being indicted for that fraud in January 2021, investigators discovered that Harlston had applied for funds made available through the CARES Act, intended to help businesses stay afloat in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the door above the office of the Missouri attorney general is a plaque that reads as follows: “I may be nothing special, but the last two guys were lying insurrectionists.” OK, I made that up.
A beloved bakery on Cherokee Street has closed retail operations and let go of most of its staff. Kaylen Wissinger says she’s made the difficult decision to “reorient” Whisk: A Sustainable Bakeshop (2201 Cherokee Street, 314-932-5166) after months of hardship. The shop’s storefront has closed for retail sales as Wissinger transitions the business to focus solely on wholesale and its ice-pop brand, Poptimism.
Red alert for all Kiss Army soldiers and wannabe Spacemen: A local Kiss fanatic based in Weldon Springs is unloading his entire collection on Facebook Marketplace, including a pretty bitchin' custom-made Kiss costume. The seller, Kerry O'Brien of Mr. Make-Believe Kiss Kollectibles, says he's been collecting Kiss merchandise for 45 years, amassing so much stuff that he can't even fit it all in his house and has to keep it in storage. The obsession, he says, started when he was just a boy.
After months of fighting to stay alive, Rosati-Kain announced at a press conference this morning that the school will remain open for the immediate future after agreeing to a three-year lease with the Archdiocese of St. Louis. On September 27, the archdiocese said it would withdraw funding from two high schools, Rosati-Kain and St. Mary’s, at the end of the 2022-23 school year as part of its “All Things New” consolidation initiative.
Out of any restaurant in town (besides maybe Taco Bell), it makes the most sense that Hi-Pointe Drive-In would collaborate with a cannabis company. So it's less than surprising that the weed-punniest burger-slinging spot in St. Louis would team up with Sinse, the vertically integrated medical marijuana operation behind Swade's multiple local locations.
Time has been marching on to a cruel degree lately. The bad news is that if you feel it this acutely, you’re probably old. But the good news for oldies is that all of your favorite things while you were growing up are now considered “vintage” and worthy of collecting!
Succulent ribs and pulled pork, decadent burgers, smoky and tender brisket — these are just a few of the signature, chef-driven offerings of the St. Louis-based barbecue chain Sugarfire Smokehouse. With 13 locations in Missouri and Illinois, the chain can certainly call itself both well known and well loved in the area. Come Monday, January 9, the family of restaurants is growing just a little bit more: Sugarfire is opening its 14th location in Arnold at 2204 Michigan Avenue.
Battlehawks fans: ready your feathers, and start practicing your best “Ka Kaws.” The XFL released the St. Louis Battlehawks schedule this week, revealing all the deets on the return of St. Louis’ only football team after COVID-19 halted games in 2020.
My friend and I were only 19 years old and, having grown up in west county, had never been to the east side. But we'd heard enough about it from our fathers and older brothers to know that on the morning of New Year's Day — when we were wide awake and wired in a room full of passed-out friends — the only thing to do was head for the Mississippi River, on the other side of which we thought we'd find a never-ending bacchanal.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Dan Steadman kept hearing similar sentiments: Americans have never lived through a pandemic in our lifetime, so this is why we don’t know how to deal with it. It’s why we don’t understand vaccines. But, he thought, what about AIDS?
Cara Moon Schloss glows. Her blond hair is long and thick, and her blue eyes beam out from behind chunky, square-framed glasses. Long rainbow-colored beaded earrings — available for sale at her business Seedz Provisions — swing gently by her shoulders as she talks.
The St. Louis dining community has been buzzing about the forthcoming Sado ever since the Bognar family announced their plans to open the restaurant last fall. Now, it appears the rest of the country is eagerly awaiting the opening of the world-class sushi restaurant as well. In its roundup of the 14 Most Anticipated Restaurants in America published on January 3, Bloomberg named Sado as one of the top places to look forward to in 2023.
Former Marine Lucas Kunce announced today his bid for U.S. Senate, seeking to oust incumbent Josh Hawley in 2024. This will be Kunce's second try for the job after coming in second in Missouri's Democratic primary in 2022. Kunce lost to eventual nominee Trudy Busch Valentine, winning 38 percent of the vote compared to her 43 percent.
When the circus comes to town this March, it will be minus a longstanding attraction — the elephants. The 81-year-old St. Louis-based Moolah Shrine Circus announced yesterday that it has decided to no longer use elephants, a decision that follows two months of targeted protests. Most recently, two protesters affiliated with PETA were arrested on December 21 after briefly interrupting a Shriners meeting at their headquarters in unincorporated St. Louis County.
This was originally published in our sister paper, the Metro Times in Detroit. A growing number of children in the U.S. have accidentally consumed cannabis-infused edibles in recent years, according to a new study.
A federal lawsuit filed by seven unhoused individuals seeks to stop enforcement of a new Missouri law banning sleeping and camping on state-owned land. On December 21, seven individuals who are currently unhoused filed suit against the Missouri attorney general saying that the law, which went into effect on Sunday, is both vaguely worded and essentially criminalizes homelessness. Attorney Stephanie Lummus, with the Cook Group, is representing the seven plaintiffs.
The corner of South Kingshighway Boulevard and Chippewa Street has seen some changes in the past few years as Garcia Properties tries to fancy-up the area. The realty company purchased the whole block of buildings along Kingshighway between Mardel Avenue and Chippewa Street with the hopes of turning the area into something it's calling the “Crown District.” In addition to the Garcia Properties office, the corner is also home to the Golden Hoosier, a bar opened by Ivan and Berto Garcia of Garcia Properties.
Every January, moving truck rental company U-Haul releases data about where Americans moved to in the previous year. According to data released by the company yesterday, a good number of people moved to the St. Louis area in 2022. St. Louis came in at number 11 on U-Haul's list of Growth Cities for 2022.
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