Eighty-eight-year-old Ray Gallardo first came to the United States from Mexico as a young man, working as a dishwasher at the Biltmore Hotel in Santa Barbara. His next visit to the Biltmore would be as a successful restaurateur.

Ray told me his story at his office above the City Coffee & Creperie in Clayton, which he owns with his wife Ann.

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Eddie Neill is best known for Cafe Provencal, which has thrived in Kirkwood for almost 30 years. But from his first restaurant, T.P. Neill’s, to Chez Leon, to The Dubliner, there were many others along the way. I talked with Eddie at his home, a 5-minute walk from Ted Drewes.

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The Buttery Restaurant closed for good on Halloween. The South Grand diner had been serving the Tower Grove South Neighborhood for almost 40 years.

I’d never dined at The Buttery. I must admit, I didn’t know it existed. But when someone posted its closure in the Lost Tables Facebook group, and the group exploded with comments, I had to find out what The Buttery was all about.

Bryan Lawrence had worked as a cook at The Buttery for 7 years. Laura Mcgrath had worked there as a server for 25 years. Bryan and Laura helped me understand why everyone was so excited about The Buttery.

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By popular demand, chef and restaurateur Greg Perez is back for more.

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Someone once called Greg Perez the Forrest Gump of restaurants. From Rich & Charlie’s, to his award-winning Painted Plates, to the Grateful Inn, it was indeed, “Run, Greg, Run!” from one project to the next.

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Monarch opened for business on Manchester Road in Maplewood in 2003, and thrived for almost 10 years. Aaron Teitelbaum and Jeff Orbin talked with me about their restaurant at Teitelbaum’s Kingside Diner in Clayton.

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La Tropicana Market was an institution on the corner of Lindenwood and Hereford for over 30 years. Rafael Trabanco told me his family’s story when I talked with him at his longtime office on South Broadway.

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Gregg Mosberger ran his own catering company – Gregory’s Creative Cuisine – for 34 years. But Mosberger began his career as a dishwasher at Richard Perry’s Jefferson Avenue Boarding House.

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