Photograph by Thomas Crone
Here’s a way to understand the shorthand language of South Saint Louis.
There’s a geographic split that runs north-south. Starting downtown and working westward, there are several major streets that inform how people view where you live, work and party in the City.
Broadway starts our journey out. People from the western side of town, just a couple miles away, fear to tread on the Broadway flats, lest calamity befall. Jefferson comes next, a spiritual cousin to Broadway and a block that still signals a sense of mild wild-westiness. Grand’s changed a lot over the years; the biggest danger on the block is now getting hit by a helmetless hipster on two wheels. Kingshighway’s the old dividing line, the place that locals used to view as upscale once you crossed the painted street lines. And Hampton? Well, everyone knows that the people west of Hampton floss their teeth with finely shredded $20 bills.
While a few of the old stereotypes still hold true, South Side neighborhoods are in a constant state of flux and redefinition. And the corner of Kingshighway and Chippewa, one of the busiest intersections in all the city, reflects that changing sense of demographics.
For decades, the imposing Famous-Barr stood on the northeastern corner of the four-way stop, a building that provided a department store for the neighborhood and the kind of anchor that urban communities need. The well-intentioned, suburban-style strip mall that’s replaced it for the past decade just doesn’t have the same impact; not commercially, and surely not visually. Just looking at the blocks around the old Famous site, you can feel the smaller storefronts fanning outward, like spokes on a wheel. You can almost feel the old neighborhood, if you concentrate a little.
The northwestern side of Kingshighway once perfectly reflected a retail response to the big store across the block, with a series of hair shops and taverns. In another cultural space, that arrangement was perfectly situated, as the men sat the tavern while the women shopped; or the women sat under a hair dryer as the men made the department store’s rounds. Old-school, but symbiotically in line with the times.
These days, ethnic restaurants, payday loan shops and traffic attorneys have moved into the old haunts, though the bars remain. Not all of South Kingshighway’s bars are found along the stretch, but three of them are nestled on the same block, a remarkable feat, considering. So we start our fast-paced journey through a handful of barrooms radiating out from that Chippewa intersection, while noting that a couple of additional spots exist and aren’t on our list. And we should also say that while we normally give a three-paragraph feel to each venue during these outings, we’ll tighten things up a bit today, since many of these bars aren’t really all that different; it’s not like Led Zeppelin’s not going to play on the jukebox of each today, it’s just a matter of which song, in what order.
LaRocca’s, 3725 S. Kingshighway, 314-353-5522
On a recent visit (okay, it took place yesterday), the barroom at LaRocca’s was just as I’d remembered it last. This is an older crowd, a day-drinking audience, which shoehorns into a single-roomed space that’s neat and tidy, but without a lot of artifice. The drinks are affordable and the air conditioning’s on, the only two requirements that seem “musts” at this place in the summertime. Conversations are hushed and held close, as patrons become confidants of those closest to them. That said, you can also shift ever-so-slightly, indicating a desire to sip your Bud in quiet. With the age of this room’s clientele, it’s a perfect place to start talking about the old Southtown Famous; hell, everybody in the room used to shop across the street and some of them probably clocked hours there, too. There’s your conversation starter right there, 100 percent guaranteed to stir the waters.
Southtown Pub, 3707 S. Kingshighway, 314-832-9009
Some spots can actually reinterpret themselves, and it works. For years, the Southtown wasn’t significantly different from the nearby saloons. But a new ownership took over, put down some fresh carpet, turned up the music, added BBQ and, sure enough, the space has a definitely younger feel that the neighbors these days. The ‘Q is a definite appeal, with Southsiders of note saying that the place has some of the best in that part of town. On weekends, there’s a bit more of a partyin’ vibe than the spots down the block, partially due to the smokers actually having to light up outside, a rarity down on K’way; spilling out onto the small patio, they carry the vibes with ‘em. Credit the owners for recognizing and playing to a local niche. They’ve found their space and it’s little louder, a little bolder than you might remember, if you’ve had some years away.
The Black Derby Saloon, 3701. S. Kingshighway, 314-351-7575
One room’s got darts, the other’s got liquor and a TV. It’s your choice where you wanna sit and what you wanna do, though many will decide that it’s best to just pull up a stool, yell at Judge Judy and call that an afternoon. If the neighboring Southtown Pub’s changed it up a bit, the Derby has decidedly stayed exactly the same. This is a beer-and-a-shot type of saloon. Your bartender might give you a wry grin when a bad joke is told down the row; then again, she might not. The guy next to you probably will want to bum a smoke, but you’ve already got one foot out the door, so you don’t have to be rude; you just have to act like you didn’t hear the question as you cut a quick getaway to the outdoors. It’s a tough life, but you don’t shoot darts or smoke, so the Derby’s limited appeals are of limited use. There’s always one of these places around. Maybe there’s even a comfort in that.
Cotter’s Sports Bar & Grill, 4610 S. Kingshighway, 314-353-9943
It dawns on you at a certain point that ol’ Jimmy Joe across the way isn’t on his second beer...he’s on his second bucket. Which explains the loud voice, the uninterrupted patter about the Cardinals and the really obvious come-ons aimed towards the lovely Rania behind the bar. He’s gotten cut from his cement job early today; just too hot to work on the project. So he’s headed down to the Cotter’s, where the beers literally form ice crystals in the frozen glassware and the extreme size of the place means that you can comfortably slip up to, or away from, any ol’ body that you please. On the weekends, Jimmy Joe might come by late, to catch one of the busiest and most-amusing karaoke nights in South City, while owner Tina pours shots from gallon buckets. This is a real deal South City bar, with everything included that you’d want or expect from that description.
Keeton’s Double Play, 4944 Christy, 314-351-6000
This one’s technically an outlier, found on Christy just as that block sweeps left and away from Kingshighway. But this bar fronts the mighty Kingshighway and though it’s found in a funky strip mall, it’s got a history on the block. It was once Marcell Strong’s place, where cool R&B line-dancing broke loose every weekend. The Amazon Lounge, meanwhile, was more of a rock ’n’ roll club, if memory serves correctly; for a time, it was a Bosnian dance club, too, before morphing into a current life as a downscale sports bar. If you’re jonesing for chicken tenders, a side salad and a Bud, you’ve found your place, right here. If you don’t, our advice is to try to find the nearby Silver Leaf, without using your smartphone. That way, you’ll have fun: a) by not being at Keeton’s; and b) by trying to find the smallest tavern in St. Louis by using only your wits and ingenuity. A winning option, all around.
