Photo by George Mahe
Coming next spring: The Yale Bar in Richmond Heights
Longtime fans of Parker’s Table (7118 Oakland) will soon have a new place to sit and stay awhile: The Yale Bar (7120 Oakland), a 30-seat wine bar slated to open next spring adjacent to the wine, beer, spirits, cheese, and gourmet food shop. “I’ve always liked the idea of creating a neighborhood place where people can drop in, gather together, and come and go as they please,” says owner Jonathan Parker. Here’s what to expect.
THE CONCEPT
The idea of adding a wine bar has been a long time in the making. “This was always the plan,” says Parker, who bought the building in 2012. The space was a legal office for the past 11 years and an art gallery before that time.
Until the end of the year, the 1,500-square-foot space will be used to assemble holiday gift baskets, at which point construction will commence. “The wine bar is a simple little addition, but it can’t happen until next year,” Parker has been saying to those who’d like to see it materialize sooner.
In the meantime, some patrons may have noticed a tease in the storefront windows just west of the shop: a scatter of wine corks in one bay and a ramshackle table with kitschy metal chairs and two mismatched wine glasses in the other. (“My brother made those in a glass-blowing class,” Parker says. “I have a whole set of them.”)
Photos by George Mahe
In The Yale Bar window is a clock that says "coming 2024" and a brass clock that notes the hours, "five till midnight."
The color scheme will remain white or off-white, Parker says, the goal being "a clean and fresh look,” complemented by original art on the walls. “I have artist friends who need wall space, and this place is already set up for it,” he says, adding, “guests can appreciate it while they’re here, and buy it if they like it.”
When it opens next year, the wine bar will seat 24–30 seats, with more seating available on the sidewalk during nice weather. The Yale Bar will serve wine and beer but no hard liquor. A small menu of hot and cold snacks, prepped in the Parker’s Table kitchen and finished at the wine bar will also be available. “Come mid-afternoon, food will be moving from back door to back door,” says Parker.
The Yale Bar will be open from 5–10 p.m. (“English pub hours,” as Parker says), from Tuesday through Saturday. Mondays are popular industry nights, so that’s a possibility, too, he adds.
Parking should not be an issue: In addition to street parking, Parker’s has access to the garage next door at SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital beginning at 5 pm.
THE BACKSTORY
Those who know Parker might describe him as the consummate shopkeeper. As SLM’s Jenny Agnew once put it, “With his quiet, measured responses, punctuated by long pauses that were never awkward, Parker is like that favorite college professor who stays well after class because students want to hear more, as one topic gives way to another.”
In 1995, Parker first opened his eponymous wine, beer, spirits, cheese, and gourmet food shop on Maryland Avenue in Clayton, in the space where Half & Half is now. Prior to that time, he worked in restaurants, represented wine for A. Bommarito Wines, and was an assistant wine maker at Mount Pleasant Winery. The Clayton wine shop closed in 2009, when the building was sold. After an ill-fated attempt to open Delmar Farm & Food (which included a farmers’ market, grocery store, and restaurant), he purchased a building in Richmond Heights that had been a post office in the late 1920s.
The reimagined Parker’s Table in Richmond Heights became a mecca for wine, beer, fresh and preserved produce, imported pastas, olive oils, vinegars, teas, coffees, cured meats and cheese, grab-and-go sauces and condiments, fresh baked baguettes, cookies, unusual candies, and gift baskets. Renowned chef Steven Caravelli (an alum of Chez Leon, An American Place, Niche, Sleek, ARAKA, and Euclid Hospitality Group) operates the kitchen, which serves up charcuterie and lunch items. In 2022, Yelp named Parker’s Table “the best cheese shop in Missouri,” an accolade based on user ratings. “We really do pride ourselves on a high level of individual customer service,” cheesemonger Phil Billingsley told the Riverfront Times at the time. It’s a sentiment that Parker still echoes: “A lot of the credit has to go to the staff, who feel empowered enough to take ownership in this place.”
Photo by George Mahe
At Parker's Table, an old school convenience: angled, head-in parking just outside the door
In 2017, Parker bought the adjacent building, which was at one time a neighborhood grocery store. Parker envisioned a versatile venue that could be used for private parties, specialty tastings, wine dinners, and collaborative events with local chefs. Parker outfitted the space the same way he’d done with his other businesses: with hand-me-down Oriental rugs, tables and chairs retrieved from dumpsters, light fixtures upcycled from locations as diverse as The Chase Park Plaza and Chesterfield Mall, and even a moveable wall on rollers that came from a Fashion Bug in Eureka. A slate floor he’d installed (and later removed) from the original Parker’s Table was laid back down in a portion of the new space, which he called The Oakland Room. It was “the culmination of 24 years of working towards this end,” he told SLM at the time.
Now, The Yale Bar completes Jonathan Parker’s revitalization plan. “You have Parker’s Table at the corner of Oakland and Yale, where you can pick up a large selection of food and drink to take home," he says. "You have The Oakland Room, where you can invite all your friends to a party in your own private room, and now The Yale Bar, where you can grab a glass or two of wine and a snack. I’ve always thought that those should be the three legs of the stool.”
For years, the tagline at the somewhat hidden Parker’s Table was “behind the Tip Top,” referring to the longtime dry cleaners on the corner. Tip Top recently changed names to Valet Express. "I’ve gotta work on that,” Parker says regarding new tagline. Half-seriously, he says, “I’m thinking of going with ‘The Best in Fresh Pressed.’”
