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Photography by Anne Matheis
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Jaunting from St. Louis to Edwardsville doesn’t quite rival trading mayhem for Mayberry, but it comes close. The Illinois city’s relative tranquility rewards the 35-minute drive there, just 25 miles northeast of St. Louis via I-55 and I-255.
On entering Edwardsville, day-trippers first ought to visit Kettle River Furniture (1091 S. State Route 157, 618-656-5111, kettleriverfurn.com), which features a vast variety of bedroom, living room, dining room and office furnishings. Especially swank: a Cochrane armchair-and-sofa set in hazel suede.
After that, more adventuresome furniture fanciers may wish to head a quarter mile north to Maison de Chanticleer (1055 Century, 618-655-9580, maisondechanticleer.com). Besides a number of majestic armoires, the establishment offers such plums as a Lillian August midsofa in umber leather. Also, co-owner Linda Hanselman displays great pleasure in chatting with customers about interior-design and special-event services. That said, the multitude of rooster statuettes at Maison de Chanticleer could unnerve sufferers from alektorophobia—fear of chickens.
For lunch, visitors need only round the corner there in the University Pointe II Shopping Center and hit Bully’s Smokehouse (1035 Century, 618-659-1802, bullyssmokehousecom), which bottles its own sauces in four varieties. Its Texas Tang on a beef-brisket sandwich? Mmm.
Two miles north of that shopping center on Route 157 beats the city’s heart: its thriving Main Street. Nestled among its numerous independent ventures is La Boutique (223 N. Main, 618-692-4266,
historic-edwardsville-merchants.org/laboutique.html). The concern stocks women’s apparel in sizes 4 to 16—all of which looks très chic to the untrained (read: male) eye.
One block southwest of Main, Kitchenland (201 W. High, 618-656-5024, kitchen-land.com) has been serving the area’s stock and custom counter-and-cabinet needs for the better part of a century with Schmidt, Forshaw, Cardell and other lines.
A stroll away from downtown proper, due east of the red-brick grandeur of St. Boniface Catholic Church, sit several fashionable older two-story residences retrofitted for commercial use, among them The Finishing Touch (415 E. Vandalia, 618-692-1574, finishingtouchdecorating.com). Now approaching the end of its third decade, the firm offers decorating services, and its showroom teems with luxe furniture, vases and lamps.
Down the street lies Maggie’s Primitive Cottage (441 E. Vandalia, 618-659-9002, historic-edwardsville-merchants.org/maggies.html), which boasts coffees, teas and other notions, including candles numerous enough to light the Old Cathedral and aromatic enough to seduce even the snootiest sniffer.
Arguably the sweetest surprise in Edwardsville stands across the street: Chocolates n’ Amour (440 E. Vandalia, 618-656-6888, chocolatesnamour.com). In addition to an array of cacao-based temptations in a glass case almost as big as a Volkswagen, the shop boasts baskets of taffy and a bounty of Jelly Belly beans. “We didn’t have anything like it in town,” notes proprietor Bonnie Kostybar. That realization—made three years ago while she worked at a Kohl’s—inspired her to open the confectionery, which now deals in sugar-free treats, custom orders and novelties like Twinkle Candy—plastic-stemmed lollipops shaped like stars, lips, feet or bones.
Finally, day-trippers may wish to terminate their tour of Edwardsville by taking a brief drive south to Crushed Grapes (1500 Troy, 618-659-3530, crushedgrapesltd.com). Over the past eight years, owners Len and Arlene Scaturro have stocked the shop with what appears to be a fine assortment of wines—among them Perrier Jouët Champagne for special occasions—as well as a beer selection that includes surprises like Urthel Hop-It, a 9.5 percent alcohol-by-volume blond ale billed as “Dutch with a Flemish touch.” Any one of the Scaturros’ products would likely ease the transition from the bliss of Edwardsville back to the bedlam of our own River City.
