Rumors that an IKEA furniture store could open in St. Louis kept news outlets and Facebook campaigns busy for years before Swedish retailers made the deal official last week. Every few months, it seemed, a fresh whisper would reignite the blogs and comments in business gossip.
But now that IKEA seems firmly planted in midtown, Daily RFT couldn't help but wonder: What will be the next big business rumor to get St. Louisans all riled up?
Here are a few of our guesses:
1. Shake Shack, In-N-Out and other trendy burger chains
Any fast-food connoisseur knows St. Louis is missing out when it comes to the biggest and best burger chains in the country. True, we have Steak 'N' Shake, where steakburgers are cooked to order 24/7; Five Guys, which tops delicious burgers with something that looks like cheese and tastes even better; and Culver's, where Wisconsinites slather your patties in butter. (BUTTER!)
But there's more for foodies whose gastronomical excursions include drive-through windows.
St. Louis native Danny Meyer turned a Madison Square Park hot-dog cart into the famous Shake Shack roadside burger stands that draw long lines across New York City. Rumors that Meyer would return to his hometown and take over the empty space at CityGarden spread like crazy a few months ago, but nothing close to the frenzy IKEA built for itself.
See also: Citygarden's Beautiful Restaurant is Vacant -- Could Shake Shack Swoop In?
Other options include the famous In-N-Out burger, a fiercely protected favorite of Southern Californians that's started inching into Southwestern states over the last few years, and What-A-Burger, Texas' answer to the golden arches.
Four more after the jump!
