UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo.– Another business is about to close, in one of the most recognizable areas in St. Louis.
Doughocracy, a casual pizza restaurant on the Delmar Loop, will close for good Sunday night. The Delmar Loop has seen several restaurants close in the last few months, including Snarf’s – which relocated out of the area – and Chipotle.
Morad Jayber owns Gyro Grill on Delmar Avenue.
“Mom and Dad and I and I’ve got my son that comes in every now and then on the weekends,” says Jayber.
It’s a family affair at the restaurant. They moved to Delmar from Kingshighway, three years ago.
“Our strategy has always been the same, service and food,” he says.
He says he’s devastated to hear Doughocracy is fizzling out, on a street famous for stars embedded in the pavement.
“It’s not something that you want to hear because then it lingers in your head that that might be an option for you if things don’t work out,” explains Jayber.
He says, running a business on Delmar has several challenges, including occasional crime and confusion over where to park.
For years, there have been plans for a trolley line, to help lessen the number of cars in the area. Jayber says he’s holding off judgement until it’s a done deal.
“Whether it’s a good thing as far as people coming in and eating? That’s yet to be seen,” he says.
The trolley is expected to open later this Spring, after several weeks of testing.
If it wasn’t for his family, Jayber’s open sign might have fallen dark by now.
“If we had the overhead that a lot of these other restaurants have, we’d be flipping the coin as to whether we can keep the doors open,” says Jayber.
If there’s a sun in this solar system, it’s Blueberry Hill.
“Oh my gosh it’s on the rise,” says Joe Edwards.
Edwards owns Blueberry Hill, along with several other ventures in the area. He says, for every empty storefront, there’s a new opportunity for something better.
“Right across the street, Copper Hinge, an eye glass place, it’s going to open up a place in about 10 days,” says Edwards.
He says, over the many decades he’s been in business, the ones that fail all seem to have the same thing in common.
“They’re not local,” he says, which gives Jayber all the more reason to keep shooting to be one of the stars around here.
“The business is there, it’s just a matter of getting that action,” says Jayber.
