Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Inside a corner storefront where auto technicians once rotated tires and the scent of grease and gasoline lingered, handmade soaps and potted perennials now take center stage. Spaced between the store’s open garage doors are several rustic Adirondack chairs made from reclaimed wood. Fixed shelves lined with craft brew kits hang on brick walls.
On the outside, City Farm and Feed (7195 Manchester, 314-925-8800) looks like a gray garage, but on the inside it’s hard to imagine that this Maplewood home and garden store was once an auto repair center.
“We did all of the renovations and retail design planning ourselves,” says owner Tim Intagliata, who worked alongside his partner, Annie Seal. “Anything that you do yourself, with your own hands, gives extra meaning to what you use.”
That do-it-yourself approach is evident in the store’s selection. There’s a soap-making kit, as well as a variety of books on organic living and edible landscaping. The store even offers chicken coops and natural poultry feed from a supplier in Ava, Missouri. “These cheese-making kits are one of my favorites,” says Intagliata. “They’re part of a line from Portland called Make and Grow that specializes in DIY kits.”
Although City Farm and Feed houses a wide array of furnishings, food products, and gardening tools, all products must fulfill a strict set of criteria before they’ll appear on the store’s shelves: Wares must be natural or locally sourced, made from sustainable materials, and they have to possess just the right aesthetic appeal. “In a lot of stores, you’ll find good pieces,” says Intagliata, “but not necessarily ones that look good.”
He points to a long, gleaming row of brown pots. “I love these fermenting pots,” he says. “They are beautiful handmade pots by a company that’s been making them for more than a hundred years.”
Although the store just opened in March, the duo has big ideas for City Farm and Feed’s future, including gardening classes and workshops.
“Anything you make that you have touched is more interesting than something you just buy,” says Intagliata. “Our vision is about helping people become active, smarter consumers.”
