Lost Tables

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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