If Noah’s Ark did nothing else for St. Louis, it introduced clam chowder to the mainstream. Howard Johnson’s had it years before, but no one seemed to care. The Ark woke us up to the pleasures of creamy shellfish broth.
Founders David and John Flavan originally planned the eatery to look like a steamboat. They wanted to have live animals outside, but health regulations put the kibosh on that. Fiberglass animals, they thought, might get swiped. Could they go on the roof? The steamboat became an ark. Opening in the late ’60s, it became a hot spot almost overnight.
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It was prime territory for dates and pre-prom dinners. A lunch buffet brought in business types. At night, an immense salad bar drew more traffic. Four years after opening, it served 400–500 gallons of chowder a week. Cocktail stirrers resembled giraffes; shorter versions served as cocktail picks.
In 1979, the restaurant began hosting dinner theater in the Animal Kingdom Room. Three years later, a fire did considerable damage. Within days, the Animal Kingdom Room and The Cage reopened, but the main dining room was unusable for a time.
Eventually, things slowed down. Noah’s Ark became Captain Tony’s, which also served as a dance club until 2000. The building was demolished in 2007, but our affection for that clam chowder remains undiminished.
