Soulard

The adventure of documenting my experiences in each of St. Louis City’s 79 neighborhood begins with the historical neighborhood of Soulard! My friend Aaron (who will be my primary companion on these adventures) recommended we start here together, with Soulard Market in mind in particular. Aaron has lived in and around STL his whole life, so he has some good recommendations. He also has added a plethora of quotes and addendum to this blog post, which you will see scattered throughout. 

Soulard is chock filled with things to do, but not so overwhelming as to be too much for a first run. Historically, my relationship with Soulard has been visiting the board game restaurant and bar, Pieces, a couple times (which I highly recommend), so I was excited to dive deeper into the neighborhood. 

As a bit of context here, I moved to Festus in 2024 and St. Louis County this past year. I grew up in Atlanta and lived in Baltimore from 2015-2023. When I was in Baltimore, I liked to visit random neighborhoods for a day, and learned so much about the city by doing so. I really miss connecting with cities, and that’s what has propelled me to begin this adventure! I’ve never blogged, but I want to document and remember my experiences. And, as I found out in my Soulard adventure, having a blog is an incredible impetus for connecting with strangers!

Protagonist Cafe

We started the day by meeting at the Protagonist Cafe at 10:30am. It was perfectly busy: just enough people present to feel the vibrancy of the neighborhood and the space on a Saturday morning, but not so crowded that there was nowhere to sit, lines too long to wait in, or too much noise to hear others speak. I got a lavender latte and Aaron tried one of their special drinks, “Here’s Johnnie”, a latte with hickory smoke, honey, and cinnamon. It tasted like hot horchata. 

The purple, green, and brick interior design of the cafe was very cute, with Soulard Mardi Gras art and motifs scattered about. The cafe doubles as a used bookstore (with a wonderful rare/vintage book section), and we even found an excellent book about online blogging that I am sure will aid us in this journey!

As we sat down to drink our coffee, we noticed a gorgeous, small, fluffy miniature husky walk in. Aaron walked over to snap his visage.

“Every great once in while, you meet a star, a performer waiting for their stage, a supernova of charisma and grace, and I must say, from time to time, that star is a dog. Someone get this good boy an instagram.” —Aaron

As I considered seeking testimony from customers about their sentiments, I made eye contact with a girl who looked around 9 and asked her and her sister (around 12) if they would like to share their thoughts in this blog. They provided excellent reviews:

“I like it so far.” – Juliette

“I like that they have a lot of books here.” –Charlie 

Unfortunately, they seemed to be a bit afraid about potential internet fame and stranger danger, and later instructed me to ask their father for permission to post this. I explained to him what we were doing and that we only asked for their first name and didn’t take photos, and he relaxed, gave us permission, and wished us great luck!

Santa in the Lou

As we walked over to our next stop, we noticed a bright Santa Claus red jeep parked along the road with none other than St. Nick himself in the driver’s seat! This was an odd sight for early August, but Santa does have things to do all year round. We asked him what he was doing here, and he said he had just taken the train in from the North Pole (it was too hot to bring reindeer this time of year). He also expressed that he’s lost 38 pounds from not eating any carbs the past 8 weeks except for Fitz soda three times. Good for him! He gave us a business card and a sticker. Apparently Santa has a social media presence and can be found on social media platforms @santainthelou. 

“Before giving us stickers he asked, ‘As you know, there’s a certain list that all the good children try to get on, and there’s the other list, so which do you think you’re on?’

To which I said, ‘There’s 139 days yet’ eliciting a hearty chuckle. Then, as we prepared to head to our next location, we had another laugh over my assertion that we’d just received a Christmas Indulgence.” –Aaron

On our way to the next stop, Aaron noticed that someone had a shirt referencing a spot in Colorado he had been to: Casa Bonita, famous Mexican food adventure theater extravaganza, refurbished at great expense by Trey Parker of South Park fame! Aaron attempted to connect with him about it, but was politely disregarded in what Aaron described as “typical St. Louis clannish behavior”, and we went on our way. 

Baked & Boiled Bagels

So, I love a good bagel and lox. I was raised in the Atlanta Jewish community, and bagels with lox was one of my primary food groups as a kid. On my birthday this past January, I drove up to St. Louis for STL’s best-reviewed bagel and lox (it’s my favorite birthday treat). It was delicious, and because it was my birthday, they even gave me a free bag of bagels to take home!

I didn’t realize that Baked & Boiled was the same bagel shop that I had gone to 7 months ago, so it was a welcome surprise to realize I was actually familiar with something here! That’s not where the familiarity stopped. 

Aaron and I went to the register and ordered a bagel and lox from Chrystal, the realtor who helps out at the cashier sometimes. We told her about our blog and asked her about her experience working there, and she said “If you’re writing a blog about Soulard, you’ve gotta write about the owner, Alex.”

She then directed us to Alex Pifer, the owner, who graciously gave us an interview. I asked her what inspired her to open up this shop, and she told us “I’m a chef, and when we moved to St. Louis there weren’t any great bagel places around, so I opened this one up. I just really love bread.” She told us about how she grew up with bagels and would even skip class to get bagels from the shop next door in Clearwater, Florida.

I told her that my younger sister lives in Clearwater and she even recognized the restaurant where my sister works (Salty’s)! When I explained that my sister and I are from Atlanta, and she had only moved there relatively recently, she remarked that her husband, Steve, is from Atlanta and called him over. We did the usual “where did you go to high school” exchange and realized….. we went to the same, super small and specific high school in Atlanta! He graduated 6 years prior so we never crossed paths, but we bonded over our favorite teachers, and I updated him that the teacher who used to take us both out to lunch for BBQ has now been fired for allegedly drinking on the job. 

Aaron and I then ate our delicious bagels (his was a tzitzel cornmeal bagel, mine was garlic and onion), which were crispy, chewy, and very filling! I highly recommend these bagels. So do the strings of fate and destiny, it seems.

The Soulard Market

The Soulard Farmer’s Market is the reason that we decided to start with Soulard as our first neighborhood. Aaron had first visited some time between 1997-2000, when his “delightful Aunt Angie” came to town from her perch in Indiana to show him all the delightful places of her youth! 

“The powerful scent and taste memories of Olives, Mini Bologna, and fresh fried donuts flood my mind when I consider these beautiful moments of my own antiquity.” — Aaron

The Soulard Market is the oldest U.S. public market west of the Mississippi river, founded in 1779. Although it began as a farmer’s market, I’d say that most of the stalls are no longer run by farmers, but merchants of all kinds. It has an H-shaped layout, and is entirely covered, with some stalls indoors. 

The first stall we stopped at was Battlecreek Apothecary, which has the tagline “a true story of finding spice in bland, dark shadows”.

The stall had an occult-esque aesthetic, with crystals, sage, and tarot cards being purveyed alongside hand-crafted soaps and spices. We spoke with the owner, who goes by a variety of names, including Martin, Okiwoio (Oak for short), and Ma’adim. Okiwoio means “to cut with water”. We asked him what his experience selling at the market has been like, and he told us that the worst is peoples’ biases keeping them from connection when they assume that his goods are evil, and the best is taking part in deep conversations with diverse groups about everything from life and death to how we’re all connected through energy. He coincidentally was also from Atlanta and came from a half-Christian and half-Jewish family, which informs his traditions he pulls from. “All religious and spiritual traditions are looking at the same thing,” he told us. “What’s important is being intentionally human. There’s this concept called kavanah in Kabbalah, it means sincere intention. That’s what it’s all about.” We talked about prayer, God as nature, and the interconnectivity of all things. I asked to purchase the fish seasoning that Aaron recommended, and he very kindly gave it to me for free (I guess this is the perks of being a blogger, now)! I’m very excited to try it out. 

“Some time between 2019 and early 2020 I first visited Soulard Market as an adult, and found this vendor. I have consistently been a patron of Martin’s. He has always been warm, approachable, and a source of inspiring conversation and genuine knowledge of Magic, religion, and experience of a world that has been weird and wonderful for both of us in these strange years. It is a joy to see him thriving, and to introduce others to his products and affect. God grant him many years.” —Aaron

As we wandered through the indoor-section of the market, we noticed a sign instructing visitors to keep their feet off the walls. We wondered what the final straw was for that issue requiring a sign to be put up.

Next, we sauntered over to the produce-oriented side of the market and came across a huge stall named “Locally Grown Mushrooms!” We spoke to its owner, Jeremie Taylor, who explained that all mushrooms are grown in a lab and processed into soups, tinctures, coffee, and more.

When asked which product he would want if he could only have one, he said “fresh mushrooms forever”, as they make a great meat replacement since he got alpha-gal syndrome from a tick bite, which gave him a meat allergy. To that end, all of their products are vegetarian! He had great mutton chops, which he remarked were convenient because he needed to wear a respirator when working with the mushrooms. Aaron purchased lion’s mane and cordyceps-infused coffee, which has added health benefits for increased energy and cognitive retention. Because we are clearly famous influences now, Jeremie kindly gave Aaron a discount! 

In regard to the coffee (and interaction), Aaron writes:

“10/10, I’m the kwisatz haderach now! But for real, it just tastes like a solid dark roast, after I’ve regularly had some, I’ll give an update if it’s made me a genius or a psychic.

Speaking of, we had an extended conversation about Zines! A shared love of all of ours, the way Zines incorporate and accentuate subcultures, and serve those subcultures without the flattening that happens with so many mediums of expression when they increase in size and audience is vital to the perpetuation of something like a specialty mushroom vendor in Soulard Market!

In response to a concern with the ways in which Zines have been demonized in recent years, I suggested he simply denounce Terrence McKenna at the start and call it a day, and get that Mushroom zine in our hands already!”

Finally, we ended up at a St. Louis clothing stand called “Support Plus Local”, which was actually one of our first stops. By the end of our tour of the Market, I decided I did in fact want to purchase a St. Louis shirt as a commitment to the city. We spoke to the woman working the stand, Madison Evans, who told us that she helps out on Saturdays at the Soulard Market while the shop owner, Lovely West, tables at the Tower Grove Market. Madison shared that she met Lovely on social media and loved her stuff, and jumped at the chance to help out at Soulard when the opportunity arose. Madison works as a Strength and Conditioning Coach during the week at SLU, but enjoys getting out of the college bubble and meeting a plethora of new faces at the Market on Saturdays. She also very kindly gave me the shirt for free (there is incredible power in having a blog, I highly recommend it), and it is so cute and comfortable! You should definitely check them out and support local 🙂

Ultimately, I highly suggest attending the Market as a blogger, even if it’s for your first post. You get free things and meet incredible people!

John D. McGurk’s Irish Pub and Garden

We originally planned on attending the Anheuser-Busch tour at this point, but couldn’t get a tour until later in the day. In order to make all the stops we had planned at appropriate times, we switched the day around and registered for a 5pm tour to end our day to learn all about Budweiser (they let me use their first responder discount since my partner is an EMT).

So, we now had several hours to kill in Soulard! We began by getting a taste of the vibrant bar scene by heading over to McGurk’s Irish Pub to chat up the Irish bartender, Johnny “Lucky” McAteer (who introduced himself to us as John) at the bar.

I ordered a virgin bloody mary and Aaron got a Guiness. John had been working at this bar for 35 years, after immigrating from Ireland in order to spice up his life in his twenties. He landed a job at McGurk’s and has been here ever since. When we asked him about what he recommends to do in Soulard, he gave us a laundry list of bars to check out. At this point, I was beginning to put together that Soulard is bar city. This should have been unsurprising, given that it’s also the Budweiser HQ, but that’s part of the point of documenting neighborhoods in this way! John was pretty busy filling drink orders from the restaurant, but we had a nice conversation before we went on our way. He expressed his lamentations about the downsides of the contemporary internet age, about how physically isolated we are today, which made me reflect about how much connection we had already fostered through the impetus of having a digital blog to catalyze conversations. He kindly didn’t charge me for my drink, but not because I’m a blogger, probably because the bloody mary mix he gave me cost them about 40¢. 

Vincent’s Market

With more time to kill, we decided to do a little drivearound of Soulard. As it was bar city, in addition to the many bars, we also passed several “Barcycles” where passengers would pedal together as they drank. 

As we drove about, we noticed a neighborhood grocery store called Vincent’s Market, and decided to stop in. 

On the outside wall, there was a plaque denoting the Market’s historical status narrating its many iterations from vaudeville theater to church to grocery. Many lives it has lived! 

When we entered, we noticed an indescribable comforting smell. The prices were pretty good, often times local groceries need to mark them up to make do, but they were comparable to larger stores. In addition to standard groceries, they also sold Vincent’s hats and shirts.

I got a bottle of water and Aaron got a monster and we checked out with a very nice cashier named Theo. We asked him about the market, and he told us that it was family-owned by the patriarch, Vince Sr., and his three sons. Theo had “married into” this dynasty, as his sister married one of the sons. Theo also revealed to us that the comforting smell was the fresh pies they make on site!

We asked Theo about Soulard and he told us that it is one of St. Louis’ oldest neighborhoods and has the second largest Mardi Gras in the country after New Orleans, as he pointed to historical Mardi Gras posters on the wall.

In addition to Mardi Gras, the neighborhood also celebrates Bastille Day in July with a fake guillotine! On top of that, they also host the St. Louis World Naked Bike Ride where nude bikers ride through the city, which allegedly began as a French protest act (he said not to quote him on that, though, so I won’t). Theo was very nice and subscribed to our blog– so if you’re reading this, hello!!

Soulard Art Gallery

After Vincent’s, we drove around some more and stumbled across the Soulard Art Gallery which houses galleries of 12 resident artists.

We didn’t really get to talk much to people here, but you can enjoy some photos of local art below.

My favorite gallery was probably “Cat Works” by Jay Thompson. Aaron’s was the macabre Photography of “Garrett Roberts”. 

Walking About

Having now patronized a series of establishments, we decided to walk around for a bit in some shadier areas to see what we may stumble upon. 

The residential homes tended to be brick rowhouses, which reminded me a lot of Baltimore, which I appreciated. The special Soulard symbol is the star, which practically is said to support exteriors of walls as cable anchors.

We passed a woman who was excitedly trying out her new motorized scooter-chair, about which Aaron remarks:

“Kudos to the lady on the motorized scooter, hauling it on cobblestone and really feeling herself, we should all be so free as an octogenarian with the affect of a War Boy.”

As we continued to walk around, a couple of tween boys on scooters approached us and asked us if we could venmo them to help them raise money to get basketball jerseys. If you’d like to support their ambitions, you can venmo Demond at @Demond-Gibson-2 and Mohamed at @basketballmo1.

As we walked further, we noticed a very interesting looking shop called “Medusa’s Spells, Hexes, and Charms” but it was tragically closed. There was a Medusa head on the wall, though, which was pretty neat. 

We also walked in and out of Bastille, the gay bar, which had loud dive bar energy and seemed cool but not what we were up to at that moment. We also passed a frozen drink bar blasting Black Eyed Peas outside called The Island, which was pretty funny given how far away we are from anything tropical. 

It was a nice little walk, but a very hot August day!

Eat Crow

We figured it’d be a good time to grab a light snack just to maximize our food interactions in the neighborhood and went into a gastropub called Eat Crow. The aesthetic of the place was pretty cool. They played lofi music over a big screening of The Little Mermaid, and there were neat x-rays of animals plastered on the window. We ordered their hummus which was made from chickpeas and walnuts with olive tapenade and fresh diced tomatoes on top. It was served with warm, fluffy pita triangles and was delicious. 

We talked to the bartender, Henry (pictured above), who told us he’d been working at Eat Crow for 2.5 years after being a regular at Eat Crow’s other location, Crow’s Nest, and seeing they were hiring here. When we asked about Soulard, he told us that it’s the French Quarter of St. Louis and a “drinking neighborhood”, and that Soulard is French for “drunkard” (which is I suppose a coincidence, given that it’s properly named after the Soulard family). His favorite memory of working at Eat Crow was when two long term regulars got married in the establishment and he got to bartend for it! When asked what he wants the people to know, he said “Come to Eat Crow. We make good burgers.”

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church

In our penultimate stop of the day, we visited the historical Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, which was established in 1849. The space itself was unique and beautiful, with German Gothic architecture. When you enter, there’s a large open gathering space with a large, flowing baptismal font in the center. As you proceed further, the pews surround the altar on either side, providing a more intimate and centralized gathering than the standard format. We spoke to the administrative assistant, Joan, and a deacon named Dan (not to be confused with Dan Deacon). They were hoping we would stay for Mass, especially since their numbers had unfortunately been dwindling recently, but we assured them we would return in the Advent season. 

“It’s really a sad state of affairs to see such a beautiful and unique space ill attended. A church without the sound of laughing children is a melancholy thing, still filled with the profound and sublime, but with so few present to experience it. This is unfortunately still quite common post Pandemic in many religious spaces, Catholic or otherwise.” –Aaron

It was a gorgeous, peaceful space with beautiful art and statuary, and we are excited to experience their liturgy in the coming months!

Anheuser-Busch

Finally, we arrived back at Anheuser-Busch for our 5pm tour. I don’t like carbonated things, so beer is super not my thing, but this seemed crucial for learning about Soulard, so off we went!

The tour was led by a guide named Sam who became a guide after working at Grant’s Farm. She had the classic, deadpan tour guide delivery filled with many jokes. She told me that if she wasn’t a tour guide, she’d like to go to school to be a labor and delivery nurse!

The tour started off at the Clydesdale Stables, where Sam told us that Anheuser-Busch possesses 157 Clydesdales, with 50 of them on site at these headquarters. The Clydesdales used to function as the delivery vehicles for the beer back in the day, and weigh around 2000 lbs as adults! When Sam asked if we had questions, I asked why they had the horses here, and she said mysteriously “To celebrate prohibition. We’ll get to that later.” I was confused as to why there was an implicit acceptance that a beer headquarters would have 50 horses on site, but we moved on.

Next, we visited the beechwood chip fermentation tanks where the beer ferments in yeast and beechwood for 21 days before processing. It was very cold and smelled incredible. Apparently they use the used-up beechwood chips as mulch in the St. Louis parks!

Next we received our first inclusive sampling of beer while Sam explained the brewing process to us, which was kind of interesting. I had a sip of bud light and didn’t care for it, so I gave it to Aaron who had three sample cups total. The yeast they use here is a direct descendent from the original yeast, and is the mother yeast for all Anheuser-Busch beer products worldwide!

“I really recommend as a supplement to the AB tour, that everyone read Bitter Brew, a tell all biography about the Busch family and the history of Budweiser, from Clydesdales to animated frogs. On this note, I will say, Bud Light is, like the majority of light beers, by no means what anyone would call, “Good”, but I think I would call it impressive, insofar as Busch came late to the Light Beer game, and yet put out an entirely potable product that for many years outsold the mainline Lager. Budweiser(Or Bud Heavy) is itself, a beer I would call quite drinkable, an impressively competent and consistent Beer. Would I prefer almost anything else given the choice? Yes. That’s it, there’s no contrasting statement, I just would prefer any other beverage under most circumstances.” –Aaron

Next we went to the lobby of the Bevo center where they produced non-alcoholic beer during prohibition. The Bevo fox is cute. We didn’t go through this part of the tour because the area was over 100 degrees. 

As we walked in the last section of the tour, Sam revealed the End of Prohibition Clydesdale Celebration mystery: when prohibition ended, the Anheuser-Busch heir August “Gussy” Busch Jr. bought his dad six Clydesdales as an honor and reminder of the “good old days” before prohibition, a gift which brought the patriarch to tears. Aaron provided additional context that these horses were in fact the same beloved horses that August Busch Sr. was forced to sell to the circus during prohibition.

Finally, we arrived at the last stop: the bottling factory. We had to go up seven consecutive elevators to arrive at the viewing floor, which smelled poorly and had an overall evil aura. Something sinister is afoot in the Budweiser bottling factories. They produce 1300 bottles of beer a minute there! We each received a day-old Bud Light (I guess I’ll use it to make fish fry batter with my fish seasoning from earlier, since I don’t drink beer), and after descending 7 escalators, we went on our way back via a trolley. 

At the end of the tour, they gave us additional 16 oz complimentary beers (I didn’t have one), and Aaron and I reflected on the day.

Before we left, we noticed a Clydesdale outdoors as part of the wedding that was taking place there (yes… people have weddings at the Anheuser-Busch headquarters apparently!) and they let me take an up-close photograph.

The Soulard Verdict

High (best parts): Talking with Oak at the Market and more generally every moment of connection throughout the day. 

Low (worst parts): The sinister bottling factory and the guy who didn’t want to connect with Aaron about his shirt. 

Buffalo (wildest parts): The serendipity of the bagel shop owner’s husband going to the same high school as me. The fact that people will just give you free things if you have a blog, even if it’s a brand new one. 

Overall vibe: Down to earth but fun. Drinking town, but in a grounded way!

And, Aaron’s final remarks:

“Around the time we left McGurks, and I realized I had absconded without my hat, we had a brief ‘Half way point’ discussion about what we thought best explained Soulard, because at that point, though I certainly had a ‘Vibe’ I found it quite difficult to summarize a snappy de rigueur. It is absolutely unpretentious, everything is what it looks and sounds like, even the sinister bottling plant in AB pretends to be nothing other than the iron maw of industry. It is a joy to see a place so fully embrace the Catholic spirit of Carnival, the celebration that comes before solemnity, ‘Let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.’”