Spring Break
Joe Edwards: The man behind the Loop
ANNIE BOKEN
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Joe Edwards is just a St. Louis native who takes a little pride in his hometown.
He is also very much responsible for rejuvenating the Loop, the strip of Delmar Boulevard bridging the border between University City and the City of St. Louis.
"St. Louis is a city with so much to offer," said Edwards, owner of the city's nationally recognized landmark, pub and restaurant Blueberry Hill. "The Loop has different kinds of diversity: racial, ethnic, age and economic. Everyone feels comfortable here."
The process of bringing this eclectic demographic to the area began in 1980 when Edwards co-founded the Loop's special business district. This allows the businesses in the Loop to tax themselves and use the revenue to provide upkeep in the area that the City of St. Louis would not otherwise be able to provide, such as dusk-to-dawn lighting, recent widening of the sidewalks and landscaping.
Edwards acquired the historical Tivoli building before it was demolished, reopening it as a movie theater and an office building in 1995. "I felt that it was very important to have a movie theater in the area," Edwards said. The Tivoli building's upper floors are home to, among others, the offices of The Riverfront Times.
The Pageant, primarily known as a 2,000+ capacity concert venue, was completed as a multi-use building in 2000 in an endeavor to reclaim a great urban street and generate enough business and activity to rejuvenate the next couple of blocks of Delmar Boulevard. "The Pageant is not just a concert building," Edwards explained. "It also houses offices, which brings people in the area and onto the street in the daytime."
More recent additions to the loop include Mirasol (6144 Delmar (314) 721-6909), a nuevo-Latino restaurant located next to the Pageant. Mirasol serves tapas-style dishes with a mix of Latin, South American, Mexican and Cuban food. Across the street is the Chinese Noodle Caf�, and just east of the Pageant is the Vietnamese restaurant Miss Saigon (6101 Delmar, (314) 369-6699).
West of the Pageant is one of Edwards' latest projects, Pin-Up Bowl (6191 Delmar, (314) 727-5555). This art-deco martini lounge and bowling alley was recently named as one of the nation's 13 most exciting hot spots, in Conde Nast magazine. Artists often stop in when they are in town to play at the Pageant: In the spring, the Strokes and the Raveonettes came in to bowl a couple of games.
One of Pin-Up Bowl's regulars is St. Louis rapper Nelly, who currently holds the high score of 257. VH1 and MTV recently filmed segments about Nelly at this St. Louis locale that will air on the respective networks in the near future.
The Loop is also home to distinctive retail and clothing stores, one of which moved just recently for the third time in its history. Big Shark Athletic Company (6176 Delmar, (314) 862-1818) is hailed as one of the top three bicycle stores in the nation, with an amazing selection spanning 7,000 square feet in their largest space yet. Across the street is Big Shark Athletic Company, which offers a vast and unusual selection of products and services, including wet suit rentals.
MacroSun International (6172 Delmar, (314) 726-0222) Gallery and Gift Shop sells imports from South Asia, India and Nepal, and BitterSweet Botanicals (6178 Delmar, (314) 862-5784) is a florist offering both "exotic and traditional flowers," Edwards said.
Three new ladies' boutiques across from the Pageant offer the latest fashion one will find in the Midwest for those in their teens and 20s. Peses Ladies Boutique (6167 Delmar, (314) 725-7313) and Reflections (6146 Delmar) offer selections more distinctive than that of the average Gap window display, while Spot 9 Ladies Shoes (6372 Delmar, (314) 721-1500) is a marketplace for shoes and lingerie, two things a girl can't get enough of.