Explore every episode of the podcast Lost Tables

Louis Fiddleman operated Louie’s Delicatessen from 1955 to 1987. I talked with Alan Fiddleman about his father over a noisy breakfast.

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Harry Giessow owned The Candlelight House on Clayton Road. He and his son, Gary, owned the Howard Johnson’s in Kirkwood and the Howard Johnson’s on Clayton Road, which Gary morphed into Layton’s. I talked with Gary and his wife Lil at their home in Ladue.

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Michael Del Pietro has opened more restaurants than he wishes to remember. I talked with Michael about growing up in his parents’ restaurant, training at The Culinary Institute of America, and opening his first restaurant, Portabella.

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Ken Bland may be less well known that some of his restaurants, such as The Leather Bottle, Cork ‘n Cleaver and Dierdorf & Hart’s. I talked with Ken about his restaurant career at his home in Clayton.

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Kopperman’s was an institution in the Central West End for over thirty years.  Myron Kopperman passed away in 2019. But Sanford Rich is still alive and well and living in Miami.

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Mel and Alan Sherman opened Sherman Brothers Deli in 1963. From its longtime home at Olive & Mosley to the Pastrami Joynt to Shermies, the family business thrived for almost 40 years. Mel Sherman’s sons, Mark and Stuart, shared the story of knishes and corned beef and more.

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David Slay is an acclaimed, award-winning chef, with four thriving California restaurants along the southern coast of Santa Monica Bay, and a vineyard nestled in the hills near Santa Barbara.

But David’s roots are in St. Louis. David was in town for the weekend, and he told me the story of how he built a successful restaurant career on the foundation of a healthy dose of failure.

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You may not have heard of Scoville’s Cafe. I hadn’t. It was a fixture in the National Stock Yards in National City, a suburb of East St. Louis, from the late 1920’s until 1988. Someone suggested I learn about it from 90-year-old Jack Scoville, which I did at his home in Belleville. I was glad I did.

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Mickey Garagiola’s younger brother Joe was a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and went on to host NBC's "Today" show and broadcast baseball on NBC's "Game of the Week."

But Mickey didn't stand in his brother's shadow. He made a name for himself as a waiter at Ruggeri's and as the ring announcer on Wrestling at the Chase.

Martina Garagiola Bettlach & Bob Garagiola told me their father’s story.

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Julius Hunter was born and raised in St. Louis. He graduated from Sumner High School and taught school for a year or two after graduating from Harris Teachers College.

In 1970, Julius secured a job in television with Channel 5 news. He moved to Channel 4 in 1974, and a year later was teamed with Steve Schiff, anchoring the 6 and 10 o'clock weekday news.

By the mid 1980s, Channel 4 news became the highest rated local newscast of any CBS-owned and operated station. Julius Hunter was on the top of his game. And then he decided to open a restaurant.

I talked with Julius at his home in University City.

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Rothschild’s Antiques was a fixture in the Central West End for 43 years. It was the springboard for Pete Rothschild’s real estate empire, much of it in the Central West End and much of it housing restaurants. Pete told me about his multifaceted career as a landlord, starting with where he grew up!

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Rich and Terri LoRusso met in a restaurant as teenagers and would go on to open their own restaurant, LoRusso’s, an institution on The Hill for 38 years. I sat down with Terri in her home, and she told me the bittersweet story of how she and her larger-than-life husband made it all happen.

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Peter Spoto opened the South City Diner on South Grand in 1992, and under his leadership, the diner thrived for 24 years. But Peter got his start in the restaurant business at the other end of the dining spectrum, working at high-end restaurants like Balaban’s and Fio’s La Fourchette.

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John and Anna Mineo opened John Mineo’s Italian Restaurant in West St. Louis County in 1973. John Mineo Jr. shared his family’s story when I interviewed him at his restaurant in November of 2023.

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Salim Hanna opened a Lebanese restaurant on South Grand in 1974. What followed was a career of almost 40 years in the restaurant business. I interviewed Salim at his home in Ballwin in May of 2023.

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Tony Pietoso’s Napoli restaurants are certainly not lost. In fact, Tony is making them easier to find, as he and his sons continue to expand their footprint in the greater St. Louis area and beyond.

But we don’t want the story of Tony growing up in Italy to be lost, or the winding road to his first small restaurant on South Bemiston in Clayton.

Tony told me that story as we sat in the backyard of his home in West County.

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Lia and Benedetto Buzzetta opened restaurants throughout St. Louis, including Benedetto's on Manchester and Benedetto's in Frontenac. Lia told her family's story at her restaurant in July of 2021.

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Wade and Lois DeWoskin owned Port St. Louis from 1960 to 1992. I visited with their son Tom and his wife Karen at their home in the Central West End, surrounded by relics from their parents’ restaurant.

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Legend has it that the Mother In Law House, at 500 South Main Street in St. Charles, was built in 1860, with one side for the owner and his wife, and the other side for his mother-in-law. But that was legend.

Donna Hafer purchased the Mother In Law House in 1981. I visited with Donna at her home in St. Charles in January of 2019. Along with her son, Bob, she told me the story of how she came to St. Charles from a small town in Illinois and fell in love with Main Street.

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Soulard's Restaurant and Bar was opened at the corner of Seventh and Soulard for almost forty years. Dan Badock told the story of his family’s restaurant over coffee in April of 2023.

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In 1978, Bob Mepham bought a small outdoor fish stand in the University City Loop. He called his new business Bob's Seafood. 

In 2005, Bob bought a building on Olive, just east of I-170, and moved Bob's Seafood to the western outskirts of University City. But University City forced Bob to close his doors in 2022.

I interviewed Bob Mepham about 2 weeks later.

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Giovanni’s on the Hill was the lifeblood of Giovanni Gabriele for almost 44 years. In 2021, Carmelo Gabriele recounted his father’s story, with an assist from his 78-year-old mother, Fina Manno Gabriele.

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In 1999, Leon Bierbaum opened a French bistro on Laclede in the Central West End. He called his bistro Chez Leon.

Leon Bierbaum isn’t around to tell the Chez Leon story – he died in 2016. But Haris Zukanovic started working at Chez Leon on day one, and was there for 10 years.

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Bryan Young spent almost 20 years at Balaban’s, working his way from assistant waiter to manager. He also ran a successful catering business for many years.

I interviewed Bryan at his home in October of 2024. At age 70, he’s still larger than life, with his deep melodic voice and booming laugh

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Restaurateur Danny Meyer is firmly planted in New York City, with eateries like the Union Square Café, Gramercy Tavern and Shake Shack. But Danny’s roots stretch across the country to St. Louis, where he grew up exploring many of our city’s Lost Tables.

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Frank and Helen’s became a Lost Table on December 8th of this year. This is the second of a two-part podcast celebrating the restaurant’s long history.

 The second half of the Frank and Helen’s story will be told by told by the individuals who owned the restaurant after Frank Seitz sold it in 1991. First, Bob & Betty Oddy, then Scott and Mary DePolito, and finally, Patrick and Rebecca Horvath, with the help of longtime employee, Rose Hepler.

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Frank and Helen’s will become a Lost Table after its dinner service on December 8th of this year. This is the first of a two-part podcast celebrating the restaurant that became famous for its pizza and broasted chicken.

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We once again return to Duff’s, with another voice and another perspective. Ginger Carlson’s perspective. Ginger was Duff's first chef. This is her story – a story she wanted to tell.

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Kemoll’s, one of the oldest family-owned restaurants in St. Louis, became a Lost Table this past New Year’s Eve. Owner Mark Cusumano made that decision. 

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Adalaide Balaban left her restaurant and the Central West End over 30 years ago. But from her home in Silsbee, Texas, the memories came flooding back.

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John Clark opened a bar near St. Louis University right out of college. This spawned a restaurant career that would lead to Lucius Boomer, Clamorgan, Jake's Steaks and more.

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Bob and Barbara Suberi opened Bobby's Creole in University City in 1977. Two years later, they moved across the street, and six years after that, they closed their restaurant and went sailing.

In 1997, the Suberis resurrected their restaurant as Bobby’s in Maplewood. It thrived until 2003, when they closed up shop and bought a blueberry farm in Alabama.

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Mary Rose Del Pietro grew up in the restaurant business. Her parents, Roy and Nina Russo, opened Rossino’s in 1954. Mary Rose and her husband, Mike, opened their own restaurant, Del Pietro’s, in 1976. I talked with Mary Rose, the 81-year-old matriarch of the Del Pietro family, this past July.

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Chris LaRocca opened his Crushed Red concept in 2012. The road to that opening started at his father’s restaurant, when he was 9 years old, with stops at Crazy Fish and a host of other Lost Tables along the way.

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Paul Manno’s restaurant has been an institution in St. Louis County for almost 30 years. But Paul’s story begins long before he opened his restaurant in 1995.

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Along with his brother, Vince, he gave us Tony’s. He originated The Fatted Calf. He opened Anthony’s, one of the most elegant restaurants St. Louis has ever seen.

For the first time, 91-year-old Tony Bommarito tells his story – uninterrupted. 

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Ruggeri’s served charbroiled steaks, seafood and Italian cuisine on The Hill for almost 80 years. For much of that time, Henry Ruggeri Sr. was in charge.

Henry’s grandchildren, Cathy Ruggeri-Rea , Joseph Ruggeri and Jim Ruggeri, tell the story of their grandfather’s iconic restaurant.

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The Pasta House Company is a St Louis institution. And while the Pasta House is not a Lost Table, we didn’t want to lose the opportunity to hear its story from the individual best able to tell it – Joe Fresta.

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Charlie Downs and Mike Johnson have both been in the restaurant business for a long time. In recent years, they’ve worked together on projects like the Sugar Fire Smokehouse and the Hi-Pointe Drive-Inn. Their resumes, apart and together, are a walk through St. Louis restaurant history. We talked about that history over coffee and pastries.

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Kathy Sellenriek has had a long career as a teacher in the Rockwood School District. But, before that, she had a long career in the restaurant business at The Lettuce Leaf and The Fatted Calf. This is her story.

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We’ve expanded our format a bit. In this episode, Ed and Margie Imo tell the story of Imo’s Pizza. No, Imo’s is not a Lost Table. But Ed is 88 and Margie is 82, and we wanted to hear their story before they were lost.

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Andy and Paula Ayers opened Riddles Restaurant on Natural Bridge in the city of Bel-Nor in 1980. Here’s their story.

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Margie Price was one of the early Bunnies at the St. Louis Playboy Club. She would marry one of the owners and lead a storied life.

 But Margie’s life did not start out that way.

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This episode is a little different. It’s not about an owner or a chef or a single restaurant. It’s about Margaret Kelly, whose 40-year career in the restaurant business helped some of those owners and chefs and restaurants to shine.

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Do you still miss meeting a friend for lunch at Cardwell’s at the Plaza? Or a spur of the moment dinner there, when you didn’t feel like cooking? Bill Cardwell! Why did you take that away from us?

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Lee Redel and John Rice opened Redel’s in 1985. According to Redel, their restaurant’s success was due in part to the trust they shared with one another. Forty years later, he trusted Rice to tell their story.

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The Sunshine Inn was a vegetarian restaurant in the Central West End. Its imaginative menu, which included the Garden of Eden salad and the Golden Lion sandwich, appealed to a diverse clientele.

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Cafe Natasha served Persian food in the University City Loop and on South Grand. But Hamishe Bahrami’s story started in a small village in Iran.

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In the 1980s and ‘90s there was a restaurant in St. Louis where you could get grasshopper fritters and anchovy soufflés. It was Fio’s La Fourchette.

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How does one open a restaurant with little money, no knowledge of cooking and no knowledge of the restaurant business? Let’s ask Karen Duffy.

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