I had special reasons to remember the Feasting Fox Restaurant.
Covering St. Louis’ South Side for the old Suburban Journals from about 2001 to 2009, I wrote about Marty and Sue Luepker, owners of the restaurant at Grand Boulevard and Meramec Street. I ate there and came to appreciate the fact that it was one of the last German restaurants in the Gateway City. Besides that, it was the venue for the launch parties for my first two books, Hoosiers and Scrubby Dutch: St. Louis’s South Side in 2010; and Beer, Brats, & Baseball: German-Americans in St. Louis in 2012. I’ll never forget the excitement of those first two events.
So I was saddened to hear that the eatery won’t reopen over the end of COVID.
“In 1993, we took a leap of faith when we decided to bring this historic building back to life and preserve a precious piece of St. Louis,” the Luepkers wrote in the restaurant’s Facebook page on Sept. 1 “.What began as a restoration project of the 1913 Anheuser-Busch Inn became an once-in-a-lifetime journey managing the Al Smith’s Feasting Fox Restaurant & Pub.
“COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of life and taught us the important lesson of slowing down to enjoy each moment. With the support of family and friends, we’ve decided it’s time to close the Feasting Fox and begin the next chapter of our lives,” they said.
I wish the Luepkers well after the closing and look forward to someone else reopening it.
Jim Merkel the Writer 