Omar's Restaurant Building
A good week got even better for me, when I checked out the recent activity in a small commercial building that has been vacant for a while on St. Charles Rock Road today. I met Omar, the proprietor of a much-needed new restaurant in St. Ann. It’s right in the heart of the old downtown at 10111 St. Charles Rock Road & Wright Avenue.
Omar
Omar has been a chef for 15 years, I learned from my conversation with him, and with John, a member of Omar’s extended family, who is in charge of the build-out for the restaurant.
Espresso Machine
I was completed charmed by the thought and workmanship that went into the total transformation of the interior of this building. It had been a car-stereo shop, with stereo installations done in the garage part of the building. Omar and John have put in a commercial kitchen, small & charming dining room (tables with table clothes covered with glass, in St. Ann—YES!) I noticed one of the hugest espresso machines I’ve ever seen.
Sign that caught my eye.
I got to see the menu—extensive, and things that you don’t get everywhere else in the area. First the brick-oven and Chicago-style pizzas, which John says will blow you away. Then, kebabs, and something I had not heard of called shawerma. They will serve healthy, delicious, fresh breakfast, lunch and dinner.
There is a nice area in front of the building (see first photo, above, and remember that this is all still under construction) on St. Charles Rock Road suitable for patio dining. The City of St. Ann requires a fence around it, so that will happen in the near future, hopefully. It all takes $$$$$. Omar has planted rose bushes along the front of the building. Again: thoughtful, artful touches. He also has planted an herb garden on the side of the building, so he can use his own fresh herbs in his dishes. This is so COOL for St. Ann: I almost felt like I was on South Grand or in Maplewood while I was hearing this!
Outdoor fountain Northwest Plaza 1960s
St. Ann is a diverse community, though—sometimes I think St. Ann’s residents “hide our light under a bush” here. Yeah, Northwest Plaza is a crumbling disaster, but it doesn’t reflect the community as a whole. Northwest Plaza will be redeveloped, whether as a lifestyle shopping area, or commercial/office space, or mixed-use residential and commercial. It took a long time for the property to get to its current state, and there’s not an easy fix, but it will happen.
After the brilliant developer and original owner >Louis Zorensky< sold the property, it was destroyed by negligent owners, who not only killed off St. Ann’s major source of tax revenues in their mismanagement of it, but also destroyed an internationally recognized jewel of landscape architecture in misguided renovations and updates. Water under the bridge, I’m afraid, but there are many people working behind the scenes to make sure that property is redeveloped. Some day in the future you will be reading about St. Ann as the next older suburb coming back to life like Ferguson, Maplewood, Olivette.
Landscape architecture at its best: Northwest Plaza 1960s
Meanwhile, you can help that potential along by supporting our local businesses, like Omar’s, supporting the people making things happen in these older, inner suburbs. It’s what you do, if you don’t want people to move out, move west, add to the sprawl. I told Omar that the St. Louis Design Community supports redevelopment vs. sprawl and will put their money where their mouth is and would be a great group to inform about his restaurant. So that’s what I’m doing.
I will let you know when Omar’s is open for business, and I hope to see you support my neighborhood, as I’ve supported all of yours.
PS St. Ann is worth a trip some weekend to visit Orlando Brothers outdoor produce stand (which takes debit cards), several carnicerias, >Taqueria el Jalipeno< (a modest, storefront authentic Mexican restaurant getting great reviews), and a 9-hole public golf course that you might also enjoy on your next trip this way. St. Ann was the first master-planned community in St. Louis County and has a permanent installation in the Missouri History Museum detailing its history. It was planned and developed and built by Vatterott Company, still in business and headquartered in St. Ann today, still building top-quality homes in the metropolitan area. In case you didn’t know … .
Images of Northwest Plaza from mall-hall-of-fame.blogspot via the Web
I live very close to the location of Omar’s. I just took a chance to see if anything on the Internet and then found this information. Your story is nice and the pictures are very nice. So I suppose it is not open (?) From the Rock Road it appeared to be open but I suppose it is not officially open for business.
What really grabbed my eye, however, in your story is all the mention of Northwest Plaza making a comeback so to speak. When on earth could any of us who really care about that see something happening there ? It has been more than a little disheartening in recent years watching as store after store after store took up roots and vanished. And when St. Louis Bread Co. left—-wow-that was basically the straw that broke the camel’s back. I so wish some great office spaces would camp out there or maybe just a movie theater. I know folks would come for the movies. It just seems such a shame seeing this nice property dissolve into nothingness. It makes you wonder how much longer can any of us hold out hope that a business would even care to start up there. And since Fairlanes Bowling Alley is long gone, why on earth not put something inside ? People want these things for their families. As long as the entertainment and recreation doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. People are longing for somewhere close to home to take their children or grandchildren or out of town company. And you do not have to even mention how convenient the NW Plaza location is to people. Just really a shame to have that standing there vacant and to put it bluntly: Useless
Time to get back to the basics and also the old saying from the movie “if we build it they will come ” type of thing. You can sign this as
A Twenty Plus Year St. Ann Resident Who Cares
Thanks you for comments, Patrice! Since you submitted this, you and I have exchanged a few lengthy e-mails, and the bottom line is we’re both feeling weary waiting out this recession to see some dirt turned at NWP.
I do have a spot of good news, though. Not earth-shaking, but something else good I heard yesterday in addition to Omar’s opening. I was up at 24 Hr. Fitness at NWP talking to Matt Mader (the Club Manager up there.) He said their membership is UP over last year, and their number of workouts is also UP over last year, meaning people aren’t just signing up, they are coming up. I was in there about 4:30 pm, and they were busy. The only place on the parking lots up at NWP that has cars outside it is 24 Hr. Fitness!
Matt has been with 24 Hr. Fitness seven years, he told me. He said the company expanded with new clubs this year; not as rapid an expansion as in previous years, but certainly a good sign, given how many other mall-based businesses have collapsed in the last year. He said they have a 30 year lease up at NWP, so they are here for the duration. That makes two permanent tenants: 24 Hr. Fitness and Macy’s!
I’ve been a member for two years, and the club is nice, desk staff is helpful and friendly.
Matt didn’t know any more than I did about the goings on at NWP with the renovation. I thought maybe being a manager up there he might have heard something I didn’t know about yet. Nothing at his end to report either. No surprise, but I’m ready for a good surprise! I know you are, too, Patrice!
Best regards,
This place is awesome! I have seen it go from a car stereo place to a run down spot to now this – I’m so proud for them…the inside is very nice to sit and have a meal. I have eaten there three times this week already….the Gyros and shawerma are out of this world – and I get their rice instead of french fries (who wants french fries and shawerma? Make sure and eat their hummus too –excellent! I can’t wait to try the pizza – but I have to wait until I am burned out on the ethnic foods first…
Patty, I totally agree with everything you say! Before it was the car stereo place, it was a Taco Bell, so it really does work well as a small, intimate dining spot, I think. I am also LOV-ING the gyros! My husband and I just had dinner there on Tuesday night. It’s our new “go to” spot. I’m hoping the city can waive the requirement for the kind of fencing Omar’s will need to comply with code, at least for the rest of the warm dining months this year. The restaurant has been full several times when I’ve been in there, and they could double their seating with use of the outside patio area (in front.) Taco Bell used that, as well. I have contacted my alderwoman about it. I also sent her photos of how some of the restaurants downtown do their fencing for sidewalk dining. The eateries downtown are even closer to traffic than Omar’s patio tables will be, and the fencing requirements allow for “more affordable” alternatives than St. Ann’s code does. If we make the hurdles too high, the next business person like Omar will hear about it and open in St. John or Bridgeton, instead of St. Ann. We sure don’t want to create that kind of failure, for the restaurants or for the city. I can make the point that I am far more vulnerable filling my gas tank next door to Omar’s at QT, which does not have fencing around it, should a car run off the road and plow into me at QT. Why is the fencing requirement not consistent for all businesses that serve patrons outdoors, and why does the fencing requirement not allow for more portable types, like at the Dubliner on Washington Avenue? “Inquiring Minds Wants to Know!”
Wow! We just got back from here and it’s great! I’ve never seen some of this stuff on a menu around here! Loved the risotto balls and the hummus!