Midtown’s rebirth has brought a plethora of businesses to the area surrounding Saint Louis University, businesses that serve both students and the surrounding community. These businesses range from apartment complexes to diverse restaurants, and each owner has an opinion on how to manage a business located in close proximity to a university campus.
“It’s important for all of the businesses to realize that, in order to succeed, they need to put the needs of students at the top of their priority list,” Leasing Office Manager of Front Door Properties, Amy Gill, said.
About a decade ago, this was not the case.
“When I was here, the businesses did not cater to students like they do today,” Steven Smith, a SLU alumnus from the class of 1996, said. “There were no coffee shops around or on campus. You had to go to the Central West End for a cup.”
Today, some of the buildings that were vacant during Smith’s time at SLU have been renovated, putting coffee closer at hand.
According to Kelly Bruce, owner of Laclede Coffee Company, The Lofts were originally a warehouse called ”The Warehouse of Fixtures.’ During Midtown’s rebirth, the warehouse transformed into the 245 lofts and some spaces were renovated into commercial ones.
“Midtown has truly changed for the better,” Bruce said.
Bruce credits Laclede Coffee Company’s success to its thriving location.
“The Midtown neighborhood was making a turn for the better and I wanted to be a part of that. Plus, there isn’t much on this side of the campus and I wanted to open up something for the students that was accessible and convenient,” Bruce said.
Front Door Properties is the company that runs Coronado Place, Moolah Place and Lindell Towers, as well as buildings near the SLU medical campus, buildings in the Central West End and buildings near Washington University’s campus. Despite these holdings, according to Gill, a cost-benefit analysis done by Front Door Properties found that being near a college campus does not make the business any more profitable.
Vito LaFata, the owner of Vito’s Sicilian Pizzeria, appreciates the facets of operating a business near a college campus. He said that his favorite part of the job is waking up every morning knowing that he will see some familiar faces during the day.
LaFata explained that his business is not solely directed toward university students. There are many markets to which local area businesses can cater: the University’s geographic market, the Grand Center market with all the Grand Theatre customers, the local business market and the residential markets of the Central West End and the Loft District.
“I initially started out with the drive to serve the University in February of 1996, but then when everyone graduated and left in May of 1996, we restructured our marketing to survive the slow periods of the summer and university breaks,” LaFata said.
Vito’s opened in February of 1996, before the revitalization of Midtown.
“Back in the late 1990s, my vision was to serve pizza and to be close to a growing university. I also had foresight that Midtown St. Louis would be a good location because it was right next to the theatre district,” LaFata said.
Besides the absence of students during breaks, according to Gill, servicing the needs of students does yield its own brand of challenges.
“SLU kids tend to stretch themselves really far. When you are in a business and you are trying to cater to these students, you have to be cautious for them and their schedules. For example, there are girls that leave at 5 a.m. from Coronado [to go to work]. And we wake up very early to watch them on cameras and make sure they are okay,” Gill said.
Gill claims she spends half her time worrying about the students’ safety. “I’m also a mom, I worry a lot about these kids that live here,” Gill said. She has reason to be concerned.
“A kid came down to the lobby one Thursday night at 11, just to say hi. And Ricky [an employee on the night shift] sensed something was wrong, so he went up to check on the kid and found that the kid had overdosed. Ricky stayed with him until he got help and until the family arrived. That same kid was here for Homecoming this year and he said to Ricky, ‘I’m still here because of you.’ That is what comes from an on-campus business, touching stories that you wouldn’t get anywhere else,” Gill said.
Despite their attention to SLU, not all students patronize Midtown’s offerings. Some students feel that the extra cost and effort is only called for on special occasions.
“If it’s a matter of going out to dinner versus eating on campus, it has to be a special event, a celebration… I don’t have the energy to walk there,” Jonathan Burton, a junior who lives in Marchetti West, said.
Freshman Emily Adamson had quite a different take on the issue.
“I feel like the restaurants in Midtown are worth the price we pay because it comes with good proximity and little effort. Being a freshman, I don’t have a car and I don’t mind paying extra to get something to eat that’s close by. It’s rather convenient to have them here.”
