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. Did you …

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. Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman

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. Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman

Andy and Paula Ayers opened Riddles Restaurant on Natural Bridge in the city of Bel-Nor in 1980. Here’s their story. Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman

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. Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman

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. Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman

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? Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman

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. Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman

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. Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman

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. Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman

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. Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman

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. Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman

For almost 25 years, Hamburger Heaven was a mecca for high school students throughout the area. Why did throngs of adolescents flock to the funny little building on Olive Street Road in University City? Let’s find out. Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman

The Greek Gourmet was a popular cafeteria in west St. Louis County in the ‘80s and ‘90s. But this story is less about Moussaka and Baklava, and more about a woman who grew up picking cotton. Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman

Golden Fried Chicken Loaf was a beloved St. Louis restaurant that thrived from the 1930s to the 1970s. Listen to history and unique interviews. Did you enjoy this episode?Harley Hammerman