Nothing like cleaning out someone else's office to find the unexpected. I've come across all sorts of things since my husband Joe Pollack passed away, and one of them was the October 1975 issue of The St. Louisan magazine. Its cover story was "Midnight Snacking," written by Greg Holzhauer, their editorial director. Time, of course, to stop and read.
And then Evan Benn's story on pretty much the same thing ran in The Post-Dispatch replete with some interesting online comments. It gave me more cause for thought about how things have changed.
Not counting the national chains both current, like Denny's and IHOP, and defunct, like Sambo's and Jojo's, and remembering that back then Casa Gallardo was a real, single restaurant, the old St. Louisan listed more than 70 restaurants, several with more than one location like Rich and Charlie's, which I counted as a single place. All those places served until at least midnight, and relatively few only did so on weekend nights.
Here's what's left from that list, how late they served then, and how late they take orders now:
• Uncle Bill's, only on 3427 Kingshighway then, was open all night, except Sunday night and all day Monday. They're now open 24/7.
• Bartolino's, which has moved north on Hampton a couple of blocks, stayed open until midnight, 1 a.m. on weekends. Now it's 10 p.m. except Sunday, when it's open until 9 p.m.
• Cunetto House of Pasta ran until midnight and 12:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, as opposed to closing times now: 9:30 p.m. during the week and 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
• Giovanni's, too, kept feeding folks until midnight every night they were open. These days, it's until 10 p.m. during the week, 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
• O'Connell's stopped cooking at midnight. That, thankfully, hasn't changed except on Sunday night, when they close the kitchen at 10 p.m.
• Rigazzi's kitchen stayed open until midnight, but that was only Monday through Thursday; Friday and Saturday it went until 1:30 a.m. These days closing time is 10:30 p.m. during the week (11 p.m. in the summer), and midnight on the weekend.
• Tony's was available to the hungry until midnight then. Now, "customers may arrive until 9:30 p.m." and on Saturdays until 10:30 p.m.
• And finally, Cusanelli's on Lemay Ferry Road (the other Cusanelli's on West Pine being long gone), stayed open until 1 a.m. during the week and 1:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Currently, it's 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday, 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Places like the Tack Room in the Chase Park Plaza, some of the Luigi's locations, the Plush Steer, and Christo's on North Broadway went on until 2 a.m. or even later, some every night.
Have we turned into a city of wimps, I thought? Why were folks merrily dining and drinking at those hours in so many places? Retail stores like Famous-Barr and Stix, Baer & Fuller opened at 9:30 in the morning, rather than the 10 a.m. we now see, so it's not like people were sleeping later. Are people going to the QuikTrip instead of the Dragon Inn and my beloved Grecian Gardens? Many of us, I can tell you, put away saganaki and roditys, lamb and metaxa with or without a band playing and the folks at the next table getting up to dance. And we wandered out into the streets afterward feeling happy and worldly and very satisfied with our world.
Benn's report made me feel a little better, and seemed to confirm that it's still primarily the young and urban that are doing it. They just aren't wearing a sport coat and knit tie (or nylons and pearl chokers). I hope they have as much fun.
