Yvette Carter plans to open World’s Bistro at 429 S. Church, in the space formerly occupied by Francesco’s Italian Family Restaurant, next week. She initially plans to serve breakfast and lunch, then expand hours and service over time. Here’s what to know before you go.
Although her plans include serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner to hungry folks, she’s tackling her first restaurant opening in small bites.
Find the best food in St. Louis
Subscribe to the St. Louis Dining In and Dining Out newsletters to stay up-to-date on the local restaurant and culinary scene.
The Menu
Carter initially plans to open the restaurant for breakfast with a diner-style format. “It’s going to be a mom-and-pop–style breakfast, with me as short-order cook,” she says. “We’ll have the typical breakfast foods, with some of my specials thrown in. Among the possible specials: sweet potato pancakes, red velvet waffles, and shrimp and grits with onion cream sauce.
Eventually, she hopes to roll out a globally inspired dinner menu—and a service model that transcends the more casual diner-style format.
“Dinner will be fine dining, by reservation, adults only, with two seatings per evening,” she says. She’s planning different menus each week, featuring one of four cuisines: French, Italian, Greek, and Latin.
The Atmosphere
Paintbrush in hand, Carter has refreshed the interior and added new kitchen equipment and furniture. She also hired artist Dean Schultz to create lively murals that illustrate the theme of the restaurant. “They start with seed planting to cropping to picking to market to the restaurant table and consumer,” Schulz says.
The Background
“Cooking has always been a natural gift for me,” Carter says. “When I was younger, I’d watch my mom cook. I had to watch from the door so as not to get on her nerves, but I learned a lot.”
She expanded her knowledge when she earned a degree in culinary arts from St. Louis Community College–Forest Park. As a single mom raising four children, however, she worked in home health care. Over time, she also started a part-time catering business, Anointed Hands. In 2015, she filed her first patents for a line of barbecue sauces that she developed and sold through retailers and from her home.
Then, last May, after her youngest daughter graduated, she decided to sell her home to help fund her dream of opening a restaurant. “I was scared to death,” she says. “I planned to live in my car, to save every penny for my restaurant,” though a friend rented her a room in his condo. She found the restaurant location while driving by Steeplechase Plaza strip mall in St. Peters on a whim and signed a lease last August.
Yvette benefitted from a special program at Saint Louis University that assigns MBA candidates to help local businesses. Students Nathan Braynock, Colin Chandler, and Amanda Ogilvie worked with Carter to open the restaurant. The team, supervised by professor Tassos Kaburakis, came up with a plan to open the restaurant in stages, beginning with breakfast and gradually building to full service. For Ogilvie, the experience was a real-world study in the complexities of opening a restaurant.
“Yvette has the determination and practical experience to achieve her dream of opening World’s Bistro and being a positive influence in the community,” Ogilvie says. “I learned that to be successful in business and the restaurant industry, it takes a village.”
This article has been updated from a prior version.
