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The first thing you must understand about Parker’s Table is that Jon Parker has a record player in the back. Adjacent to the resurrected appliance you’ll find hundreds of records. Would you like to play DJ? That’s cool, Parker will tell you. His casa, su casa. Select some platters, some discs, some vinyl, whatever terminology is hep these days, and go to town. You can even dance if you want; just don’t smack into a rack of Cabernets with your bee-hind.
Parker is casual. His relaxed attitude permeates the business culture at his relaxed wine shop. His employees are laid-back. His cheese counter is no-frills. His wine selections include many bargain bottles. His three-wheeled wine-delivery car (see left) is cute.
And as he has rebuilt his business from an exodus in Clayton in ‘09, he has made organic, gradual advances. He erected interior walls on wheels, so he can change the layout of the shop on a whim. He expanded the staples section to include a mix of imported and local honeys, teas, dried pastas and chocolates. He stocked idiosyncratic beers and wines for those who choose to chillax in the Parker style.
But now, he has made a move that cannot help but draw attention from the local fooderati. He’s still Captain Casual, but he just can’t fly under the radar any longer. You see, Jon Parker has hired a Craftian.
In late November, journeywoman pastry chef and Gerard Craft protégé Summer Wright (below) came on board at Parker’s Table. Her mission: to develop a bakery in the back of a wine shop, and open it by this summer (pun unintended).
Wright’s resume is remarkable, particularly for a gal who’s just 30. She’s toiled at the Classic Cup Café in Kansas City’s tony Plaza district; at Daniel Boulud’s db bistro moderne in NYC; under Anthony Devoti at Five Bistro, back when it was located in the Grove; at Niche in its original Benton Park location; at Brasserie by Niche and the adjacent Taste from the time they opened; and most recently at Oakland, Ca.’s Pizzaiolo by Chez Panisse vet Charlie Hallowell.
“Since I was 18, restaurants are the only places I’ve worked,” she said.
She drifted into pastry (ain’t that always the way?), and sings the highest of praises for fellow Craftian Matthew Rice, the departed dessert doyen at Niche.
Parker managed to woo her to his wine shop/lounge/pleasure palace, and now she’s planning the next phase of expansion for the spot: a wholesale and retail bakery.
“The core line is going to be laminated doughs, specifically Viennoiserie, meaning Vienna-style pastries with layers of dough and butter folded over, like croissants and pain au chocolat and turnovers,” she promised. “We’ll also do scones, morning cakes, quickbreads, quiches and frittatas, and some cookies, candy, and cakes. Everything will be French- and Italian-inspired, because that’s what I know. The bakery will be open early, but we’re not going to do coffee.”
“Phase two,” she said, “will be bread. It won’t be a massive bread program, but we’ll focus on simple French-style country loaves, pain de campagne, and variations of that with nuts, dried fruits, olives and whole grains.”
“Whatever we do will involve pastured eggs, local milk, and so on, as much as possible – sustainable and seasonal and local ingredients,” she averred.
The physical space calls for the bakery to be towards the back of the shop, in a very open kitchen space, where customers will be able to observe Wright and cohorts kneading, rolling, braiding, etc.
The bakery will surely enhance the many informal parties and rented events that go down “behind the Tip Top,” too.
“There will be more room to play,” agrees Wright.
In meantime, Parker and Wright are taking suggestions for names for the new bakery. We like “Loaf.” It’s what’s disgorged from the ovens. And it’s pretty much what we like to do when we play DJ while we shop for wine at Parker’s Table.
Parker’s Table
7118 Oakland Ave (at Yale)
Richmond Heights
314-645-2050
Hours: Mon - Sat 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
