Meet St. Louis

Nate Hereford originally wanted to be an archeologist, but thankfully for all of us, and our appetites, he found his way into the kitchen.

Walking into the Companion Bakery facility in Maryland Heights, you’re met with the incredible smell of freshly baked bread. Once you meet owner Josh Allen you get a sense of what he’s worked to build for almost three decades.

Blueprint Coffee started when a group of coffee lovers wanted to bring something new to the St. Louis coffee scene. They wanted to bring something different, something with more transparency. That means from bean to cup.

The Wine and Cheese Place, as it’s called now, has established itself as one of the go-to places for all things wine, beer, liquor, and of course cheese.

St. Louis is filled with artists, creatives and makers. Whether it’s unique to St. Louis or not, you can’t argue that our city is incredible about showing up and supporting locals

For Brandin Vaughn, his love of fashion started out of necessity. His family shopped at thrift stores when he was a kid, and he quickly learned to sew and tailor the clothes to better fit him.

How does beer get from your local brewery to your favorite restaurant? Brian Dix tells us what it's like to be a beer distributor in the newest episode of the Meet St. Louis podcast.

Hear from the great Joe Edwards of Blueberry Hill.

Modern Brewery has been churning out some great beers including their most popular,Citrapolis, since it opened in 2014. But their brewery was always been a bit hidden, located off Manchester Road.

Bright flowers adorn the doorway of the Benton Park restaurant. As you walk inside, there’s colorful artwork and mermaids. Instantly you feel like you’re anywhere but South St. Louis. That’s what owner Lemya Sidki wanted; To transport you to her home country of Brasil.

There’s something nostalgic about ice cream, especially on warm summer nights in St. Louis.Creating memories was the goal for siblings Max and Darla Crask when they opened Ices Plain and Fancy in the Shaw neighborhood in South St. Louis

For Tony Nguyen, opening his new restaurant in South St Louis is a major milestone .While he’s worked at restaurants across the country, this marks the first that will be solely his.

Schlafly Brewery has been around since 1991, a long time in the craft beer world and they’re still working to innovate and shape the future of craft beer.

Be The Good – it’s a mantra we all could use. And it was the first one Leah Longueville created when she started making shirts in her guest bedroom.

Eric Vails says business is family. He and his brother operate Vails Brothers Shrimp Chicken and Fish. Their original location is on Delmar, just east of the Loop, and they just opened a second location in the Grove, bringing their food to a new customer base.

20 years in any business is a milestone to be celebrated, but it’s an especially big deal in the restaurant industry.

Just in time for National Ice Cream Day (July 17), beloved Serendipity Ice Cream is now open in The Grove in St. Louis. It will be almost 19 years to the day that Beckie Jacobs open her shop in Webster Groves.

For Chefs Marc Del Pietro and Brian Doherty, the restaurant business is a family affair. Marc grew up in his family’s South St. Louis restaurant and Brian married into the family. Now, the two brothers-in-law operate three distinct restaurants in the St. Louis area: The Block in Webster Groves, 58Hundred in South City, and their newest venture, Cleaver & Cocktail in Town and Country.

The Kirkwood couple sold out on day one. Fast forward to now, they have a booming business and are about to open a restaurant. Down the street, they took over the popular Tropical Moose Shaved Ice stand at the Kirkwood Farmer’s Market.

It all started with a pizza in Scotland...Not what you'd expect to kick off an authentic Italian restaurant, but that was Wayne Sieve’s first introduction to Neapolitan-style pizza. That first taste set off a passion project that would eventually lead to a food truck, and then a restaurant where people often drive well over an hour to get a table.

This week might be the wildest podcast we’ve done in our almost 200-episode history. We were surrounded by animals while recording our interview with Jeff Suchland, who runs Alpacas of Troy and Brats of the World; two separate businesses both operated out of their family farm in Troy, Missouri.

Tony Davis describes himself as a serial entrepreneur, always dreaming of a big idea.His love for popcorn is the one that stuck. He started Pop Pop Hurray! first as a vendor and fundraising business, but a storefront was calling.

When you walk inside Bike Stop Café off historic Main Street in St. Charles, you’re met with two distinct businesses – a café serving up healthy and fresh foods and a bike shop with gear to buy and to rent so you can hop right on the Katy Trail out the back door.

Inside a storefront on Cherokee street in south St. Louis, they’re baking more than just bread and cinnamon rolls. They’re helping change lives.

Bernie Lee started working in restaurants as a teenager. He immigrated to the US from Malaysia and wanted to open a restaurant that reminded him of the fusion of flavors he grew up with

Ann Bognar opened Nippon Tei in West County more than two decades ago. Her son Nick grew up watching her in the kitchen at home and at the restaurant.

Crazy Bowls and Wraps has been serving up healthy eats- things like kale and quinoa- way before they were ever trendy. And many people don’t realize the fast-casual spot is local to St. Louis.

Waking up to the smell of donuts has been a reality for Syeeda Morris since she was a child.

This week on the Meet St. Louis Podcast, we head to Dogtown and visit one of the fastest-growing breweries in the region.

Many of us have seen the giant chess piece in the Central West End. In fact, did you know it’s the world’s largest?