Joe Edwards

First Look: New Moon Room at the Moonrise Hotel

The Moonrise Hotel (6177 Delmar Boulevard; 314-721-1111) opened its brand-new rooftop bar last week for a special media preview of the space called the New Moon Room. Gut Check was there to scope it out and to chat with the duke of U. City and the man behind the New Moon Room, Joe Edwards. "I never ... More >>

Will the Loop Trolley Really Spur Development? Transit Blogger Says No; Joe Edwards Bristles

Writing just days after the Loop Trolley route was finalized, prolific urban-issues blogger Yonah Freemark over at The Transport Politic is trying to debunk a big claim made by project backers: That the new trolley will spur development along its path:even if developers are intrigued by the idea of ... More >>

Blueberry Hill Hosts Pop Culture Collectibles Garage Sale on Sunday, September 2

On Sunday, September 2, Blueberry Hill (6504 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-727-4444) hosts its first-ever Pop Culture Collectibles Garage Sale from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in its Elvis Room. The sale comes a week before the restaurant's 40th anniversary bash on Saturday, September 8. For Gut Che ... More >>

Saturday Night Special: Big Crowds, A Brawl and A Couple Shootings in the Loop

​The unseasonably warm weather brought out a big crowd to the University City Loop on Saturday night. Most of those people were there for a concert, a meal, or just to sit outside and enjoy drink on a nice night, but there were also some looking for trouble. And as is the case with trouble, it doe ... More >>

Attention, Ne'er-do-wells: Manned Security Cameras Are Coming to the Loop

​We know some of our readers really, really hate security cameras -- in fact, they hate the entire system of private property that makes security cameras necessary. Well, bad news for those folks: The Loop is going to get security cameras this summer. The nabe's grand poobah, Joe Edwards, tells Da ... More >>

R.I.P. Rondo Leewright, Singer and Leader of Rondo's Blues Deluxe

​Rondo Leewright, the St. Louis blues singer who captivated the city for years with his powerful voice, passed away yesterday of cardiac arrest. He was 65 years old. Rondo was the featured vocalist in the early '80s for the Soulard Blues Band. He rose to greater prominence in mid-decade, tho ... More >>

Joe Edwards on the Value of Collecting, Conversation and Chuck Berry

Photo by Jon Scorfina​Many St. Louisans know Joe Edwards as the man behind the revitalization of the Delmar Loop. His imagination has spawned Blueberry Hill, the rehabilitated Tivoli theatre, the Pageant, the Moonrise Hotel, and most recently the Chuck Berry statue. His joyous projects have at ... More >>

Preview: 360 Bar at the Hilton Opens Monday, July 25

10 points if you can hock a loogie and hit the Arch. ​Gut Check was feeling a little poor yesterday. $5 parking seemed an unnecessary expense, so we parked on the street, surrendering our last quarters to the meter. As we sweated our way down the sidewalk and into the air-conditioned plush of ... More >>

It's Here: Chuck Berry Statue Finally Installed in the Loop

Kelsey Whipple​After an hour-long installation and a stint duck-walking across the sky with the help of a crane, the latest tribute to St. Louis music legend Chuck Berry is finally installed on Delmar across from Blueberry Hill. And Lord of the Loop Joe Edwards couldn't be happier. "I felt it ... More >>

It's Here: Chuck Berry Statue Finally Installed in the Loop

Photo by Kelsey Whipple​After an hour-long installation and a stint duck-walking across the sky with the help of a crane, the latest tribute to St. Louis music legend Chuck Berry is finally installed on Delmar across from Blueberry Hill. And Lord of the Loop Joe Edwards couldn't be happier. " ... More >>

Chuck Berry Show on Wednesday at the Duck Room Is On!

Erin Kinsella​Chuck Berry gave fans quite a scare in Chicago on New Year's Day, when he was forced to cut his show at the Congress Theater short due to exhaustion. Such a cancellation is exceedingly rare for Berry, who's known for being punctual and a man of his contractual word. It's also ver ... More >>

Flamingo Bowl's Katie Gwaltney: Featured Bartender of the Week

Welcome to Girl Walks into a Bar, a weekly Gut Check feature that spotlights local bars and bartenders. This week Alissa Nelson profiles Flamingo Bowl bartender Katie Gwaltney. Below is a Q&A with Gwaltney, followed by a video of her mixing a Spiced Chocolate Martini. Alissa NelsonHow do you like y ... More >>

The Chuck Berry Statue: An Update and a Sneak Preview

The statue of Chuck Berry set to be unveiled in the Delmar Loop is coming along nicely. A reader slipped A to Z some in-progress photos of the eight-foot-tall bronze statue, which is being sculpted by Harry Weber, the man responsible for some of the city's most iconic art. ​ So when is the statue ... More >>

Loop Trolley: A Piece of Cake

RFT photo​Loop impresario Joe Edwards held a press conference this morning outside his Blueberry Hill restaurant to celebrate yesterday's awarding of a $24-million federal grant for his latest dream: a trolley connecting Delmar Avenue to Forest Park. On hand today for the ceremony were Congressmen ... More >>

Readers discuss who's to blame for the new Loop curfew, a teen's hanging death in Cahokia

Teens Banned from U. City Loop after 9 p.m.

Goodbye, teen slackers.​The University City council this week passed a new curfew on teenagers hanging out in the Delmar Loop. Teens 16 and younger are now banned from the area after 9 p.m. The council passed a similar curfew of 10 p.m. in 2008 after large crowds of teenagers began congregating in ... More >>

Pageant Going Smoke Free July 1

www.thepageant.com​The Pageant announced yesterday that it would go smoke-free July 1 -- six months before a city-wide smoking ban goes into effect. Club owner Joe Edwards says the change comes following requests from some 80 percent of visiting bands that prefer playing smoke-free shows. The move ... More >>

Joe's trolley, the suffering of the Jews and a casino on bottomland

Could Loop Trolley Finally Be Rolling Toward Reality?

Photo: Jennifer SilverbergA streetcar named "Loop Trolley"​It's still a long way off, but Joe Edwards decade-long dream to install a trolley from the University City Loop to Forest Park moved one tiny step closer to fruition yesterday. At its meeting Wednesday, the area's chief planning organizati ... More >>

Sky's the Limit: When Joe Edwards opens a moon-themed hotel and restaurant in the Loop, hopes are high

Movement Afoot to Hoist Chuck Berry Statue In the Delmar Loop

Wikimedia CommonsOne caller to Brennan's show last week suggested that the statue go in the women's bathroom at Blueberry Hill. Edwards didn't entertain the idea. KMOX morning talker Charlie Brennan, along with Joe Edwards, the unofficial emperor of the Delmar Loop, have rolled out plans to erect a ... More >>

Chuck Berry Statue Might Be Built in the Delmar Loop

Interesting blogpost over at Daily RFT by Kristen Hinman, who reports that KMOX radio host Charlie Brennan and Loop impresario Joe Edwards want to erect a statue of legend Chuck Berry near Blueberry Hill. Hinman reports:Edwards told Brennan on the air last Thursday that he has a spot marked between ... More >>

After a Sprint to the Finish, the Moonrise Hotel on Delmar is Open and Full of Moonie Stuff

A view from the top of the Moonrise. The Loop now has a hotel, and according to managers, a 50 percent occupancy rate for its opening day.The Moonrise Hotel (6177 Delmar Boulevard) -- the latest project to sprout from beneath the blond mane of businessman Joe Edwards -- officially opens today. Fans ... More >>

With a new trolley tax in effect, Loop business owners hope to not lose steam

Mmm...Cheesecake

Pinups at the Pin-Up

Out-of-control shoplifting at the St. Louis Galleria. Violent attacks in the Delmar Loop. Is MetroLink a vehicle for crime?

Trolley Song: A new source of funds pushes forward the plan for streetcars on Delmar Boulevard

Loop's Moonrise Hotel to Open April 2009

Fallen Star

Walk of Fame: Munchkin Mickey Carroll comes up short.

Fallen Star: Munchkin Mickey Carroll Comes Up Short

Best New Bar

Pin-Up Bowl

Lively Up Yourself

De Palm Tree adds spice to the St. Louis culinary scene

Trolley Follies

In the race to return streetcars to St. Louis, Lacy Clay and Joe Edwards chart two very different courses

Uneasy Street

How many Metro employees does it take to screw in a streetlamp?

Maximized

Look for local knockout Katina Mitchell at the newsstand (and up on roofs); plus, we're feeling the Joe-mentum and want to see how John Edwards measures up, and Sanford-Brown coach John Campbell gets the kudos he deserves

Up From the Gutter

The Pin-Up Bowl brings new meaning to drinkin' in the alley

Rock the Boat

Yackey's on the River brings hope and hush puppies to the banks of the Mississippi

Make a Date

The Tivoli offers more decoration for the refrigerator with the resurrection of the film calendar series

Loop Hole

Performing-arts groups are trying to come together on plans for the new Loop Theatre. They need to keep the drama on the stage.

Baron Rothschild

He can turn bricks into gold, junk into antiques, disasters into opportunities. But Pete Rothschild just can't transform his reputation.

Get a Room

Lodging revenues are down since Sept. 11, and that could mean trouble for the arts

Best St. Louisan of 2001

Joe Edwards

Grand Funk

Where's the live-rock venue or big dance club on South Grand, catering to the area's mass of young hipsters and music lovers?

On a Roll

Joe Edwards, savior of the Loop, wants to bridge the Skinker Boulevard "moat" with a trolley. Can he get supporters on board?

Décor

Blueberry Hill

A Year in a Day

From Nelly to the Pageant: what went down on the St. Louis music scene in 2000

Best Bar/Nightclub

Blueberry Hill

Musical Chairs

The opening of the Pageant squeezes out other venues

LOOP DREAMS

Not to worry -- Joe Edwards and Pat Hagin say their Pageant Theater is still in the works

Short Cuts