Sara-Lou Cafe The Ville neighborhood has a rich history of African American education, business and art. North Sarah was once a key retail street for the neighborhood. A historically significant anchor on North Sarah was the Sara Lou Cafe. The two-story building at the northeast corner of Sarah and St. Louis Avenue was constructed in 1906. It housed the Heitman Floral Company from 1924 to 1933. From 1937 to 1940, Harry Londoff ran a tavern in the space. And by 1942, it had become Gustave William Brinkman's Sara-Lou Cafe. Gustave "Gus" Brinkman was born in St. Louis on June 13, 1912. While his Sara-Lou Cafe was in a predominantly black community, Brinkman was white, his paternal grandfather having immigrated to the United States from Germany as a child. Gus Brinkman married Molly "Amelia" Hartenberger in 1936. Husband and wife ran the Sara-Lou Cafe as early as February 22, 1942 when, as reported in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, they acquired the entire two-story commercial building that housed their restaurant. They would take up residence in a second-floor apartment.
Throughout the 1940s, the Brinkmans publicized their restaurant by sponsoring a team in the women's bowling league at Dister Brothers Recreation on Natural Bridge. They also sponsored the Sara-Lou Rebels in the Khoury League. When the Brinkmans purchased their building in 1942, they occupied a small corner space. At the time, a beauty shop, a barber shop, a tailor and a fruit store also occupied the first floor. Over the next decade, the Sara-Lou Cafe expanded into the other storefront spaces, culminating in a "formal opening" on October 1, 1951.
The Sara-Lou Cafe was open daily, serving "appetizing meals any hour of the day or night."
According to the new neon sign above the entrance, Sara-Lou's menu included chicken, steaks and frogs. The trifaceted sign would remain in place until well after the restaurant closed in 2002.
On February 12, 1971, Gustave Brinkman shot and killed a 28-year-old man who was trying to rob his restaurant. On February 21, 1971, Brinkman's station wagon was fire bombed as it sat in front of the restaurant. Brinkman closed the Sara-Lou Cafe shortly thereafter. He would die of natural causes on February 12, 1986.
James "Jimmy" Owens Jr. was born in Mississippi on April 19, 1924. He graduated from Vashon High School in St. Louis in 1942 and married Earline Wright in 1943. He attended Lincoln University for one semester, intending to pursue a career in medicine. However, in need of money, he withdrew to work at the Krey Packing Company. Owens also worked for the Advance Vending Company for many years, servicing jukeboxes. In 1958, Jimmy and Earline Owens opened the Golden Slipper Lounge at 2810 North Sarah, a block away from the Sara-Lou Cafe. The name "Golden Slipper" came from a female customer's gold stilettos, whose shoes were later mounted in the bar.
In 1972, Jimmy Owens purchased the Sara-Lou Cafe from the Brinkmans and moved his Golden Slipper Lounge next door. Owens' Sara-Lou was rustic-looking with booths built by Owens himself. About 75 people come through the door on weeknights and 150 on weekends. Owens' restaurant was known for its "Sarah Lou Shrimp" and tartar sauce. The Sara-Lou sold more shrimp than any non-chain restaurant in the Midwest. In 30 years of business, Owens raised the price of shrimp by only 75 cents. No matter how the market fluctuated, he wanted customers to be able to afford his delicacy. Owens was a "godfather" in the community. He was an advocate for children’s causes and employed generations of neighborhood residents. The restaurant had many well-known regulars, including Dennis Edwards of the Temptations, the Bosley family and other elected officials. The Sara-Lou Cafe closed its doors in 2002. At the age of 78, Jimmy Owens could no longer manage the business and the near hundred-year-old building was in need of too many repairs. James Owens Jr. died on January 17, 2011 at the age of 86.
The two-story building at the northeast corner of Sarah and St. Louis Avenue has remained vacant since the closure of the Sara-Lou Cafe. While the building’s interior is in generally good condition, the exterior is in dire need of stabilization due to unboarded windows and deteriorating masonry walls.
By 2019, the historic Sara-Lou signage had disappeared. The building is currently owned by the city’s Land Reutilization Authority, the land bank that serves as "owner of last resort" for vacant properties lost to abandonment or foreclosure. It's difficult to imagine Gus Brinkman's frogs or Jimmy Owens' shrimp being served anytime soon.
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