Lost Tables: The Chariton

The Chariton

The building at 4301 South Broadway, on the corner of South Broadway and Chariton, was a soda drink parlor in 1927. Joseph Banker was its proprietor. On March 1, 1927, Banker was robbed of $40 by two gunmen, who then locked him in his icebox.

By April 19, 1927, Banker's soda drink parlor was on the market. It was still advertised for sale in the September 2, 1927 St. Louis Globe-Democrat, along with a barbecue stand.

SORT DRINK PARLOR ― And barbecue stand; must sell; leaving town. 4301 S. Broadway. Riverside 5930.

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Theodore Alfred Wieland was born in St. Louis on April 4, 1894. His father, who worked as a Teamster, died in 1905. By 1910, his mother had remarried.

At age 23, Theodore Wieland married 17 year old Nora Kennedy. They lived with Wieland's mother and step-father at 4535 Michigan Avenue in South St. Louis. The couple had two sons. William was born in 1916 and Theodore Jr. in 1922.

By 1917, Wieland had joined the Teamsters and worked for the Central Transfer Company. He was at the same job in 1920. But by 1927, Central Transfer was losing business to the larger Columbia Terminals Company, and would eventually be taken over by the larger entity in 1934.

Whether or not related to the declining fortunes of his employer, in 1928 Theodore Wieland purchased Joseph Banker's soda drink parlor and barbecue stand at 4301 South Broadway.

4301 South Broadway, 1954

According to an article in the June 27, 1928 St. Louis Star, the Wielands continued to run the soda drink parlor they had acquired, likely to the end of Prohibition. They operated their barbecue stand inside the soda drink parlor. They also moved their family home to 2734 Chariton, next door to their newly acquired business.

Over the years, the Wielands' business had a variety of identities, including Chariton Barbecue, Chariton Barbecue and Fish, Chariton Restaurant, Chariton Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge, Chariton Barbecue and Cocktail Lounge, and simply The Chariton.

The Chariton Bar, 1938

By 1942, William Wieland was working alongside his father at the restaurant, with younger brother Theodore Jr. also helping out. But in 1943, the Chariton was forced to close.

The Chariton restaurant at 4301 South Broadway, widely known for its barbecued meats, fowl and seafood, last week joined the list of favorite St. Louis eating places closed for the duration because of the shortage of help and food.
Theodore A. Wieland Sr., who established the restaurant 16 years ago, said his decision to close was prompted by the fact that his eldest son, William A. Wieland, 27, has received a call for army induction after making several attempts to enlist. Another son, Theodore A. Wieland Jr., already is in the navy.
Wieland said he has found it almost impossible to obtain outside help and that with his second son called, he and his wife feel they will be unable to carry on.
Another factor in his decision, he said, is the inability to obtain chickens, frog legs and meats of the standard and quality served by the restaurant.
"We are going to board up the windows and have the place just as it is until the war is over and we can resume business," Wieland said. "Incidentally, we are preparing a large sign to be placed in front urging everyone to buy war bonds."
St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Jun 6, 1943


William Wieland 1935 Cleveland High School Yearbook	Theodore Wieland Jr. 1940 Cleveland High School Yearbook

By September of 1943, the Chariton had reopened for carry-out service only; there was no dining room service. A half fried chicken with cole slaw or potato salad cost 55 cents, barbecue meats were 60 cents and homemade pies could be had for 60 cents.

By October of 1946, the "New Chariton Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge" had reopened their dining room, serving "delicious dinners and sandwiches" and "excellent drinks" made from their "large stock of fine pre-war whiskey."

A favorite dish at The Chariton was the whole fried jumbo frog with tartar sauce.

Frogs, like snails, depend on the sauce for their success as a tasty dish. William Wieland of The Chariton, where frogs have been one of the specialties for 20 years, serves them with a sharp tartar sauce made according to a recipe originated by the founder of the restaurant.
For the cooking, he dips the cleaned, dressed jumbo amphibians in flour, batter, and cracker meal and fries them for seven minutes in deep, hot fat.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jun 6, 1948

Skin is peeled easily from large, dressed Louisiana frogs.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jun 6, 1948

The Chariton continued to thrive under the Wielands guidance into the '50s.

The Chariton, famous for good food, has been serving St. Louisans for 29 years in the same location. Delicious steaks, chicken, ribs, fish . . . fresh Louisiana frogs received by daily express. For your parties and dinners at home try our complete carry-out service.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oct 21, 1956


1958 Chariton Menu (click image to enlarge)

On December 23, 1956, Theodore Wieland Sr. died at the age of 62.

On January 7, 1961, Theodore Wieland Jr. died after being struck by an automobile while vacationing with his brother in Naples, Florida. He was 38 years old.

William Wieland sold The Chariton in 1964.

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Joseph Frank "Joe" Tangaro was born and raised in Price, Utah. He attended Carbon High School in Price, where he was a star athlete. He also starred at the University of Utah, where he played football and was an all-conference lineman and wrestler.

After graduating college, Tangaro became a pro wrestler, often appearing in promoter Sam Muchnick's bouts at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. Tangaro eventually moved to St. Louis and, in 1964, purchased The Chariton from William Wieland.

Joe Tangaro, 1963

The restaurant at 4301 South Broadway was renamed Joe Tangaro's Chariton. But as Elaine Viets explained in her October 11, 1987 St. Louis Post-Dispatch column, the South Side landmark continued to be known by its old name.

Recently a woman went to a family dinner at a famous, old South Side restaurant. It's had a new name for some time now, but everyone was told to meet at Joe Tangaro's on South Broadway.
The woman wrote, "One guest, obviously from West County, was 45 minutes late because he was not aware that the Chariton Restaurant is really Joe Tangaro's.
"How many decades do South Siders continue to call a restaurant by its proper name before giving in to the name the current owners use?"
For the life of the diner.
Restaurants may come and go, but we don't. People stay put in this city. And we remember. Why should we keep track of a restaurant's new name when it has the same food?

Joe Tangaro may have given his restaurant a new name, but his menu still offered whole Louisiana frogs, with tartar sauce, and lots of barbecue.


1964 Joe Tangaro's Chariton Menu (click image to enlarge)

Tangaro successfully operated his South Side restaurant for twenty years and became a leader in civic and charitable affairs.

In 1983, Joe Tangaro developed ALS, commonly know as Lou Gehrig's Disease. In 1984 he closed The Chariton.

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In November of 1986, Dushan Manjencich reopened The Chariton. He was already running Mike and Min's in Soulard with his brother Milen.

I'm going back to the way this place used to be in the '20s . . . a neighborhood kind of place where you can get good food at moderate prices. And I really enjoy it when some of the old-timers come in here and tell me what it was like here when they used to eat here.

One of those old-timers was Joe Tangero.

I still get a lot of help from Joe about how to run this place. He even has given me some ideas on how to make that special tartar sauce that they used for the carryout fish.


Dushan Manjencich	The Chariton
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Aug 5, 1987

Manjencich's version of The Chariton lasted until at least the end of 1988. In late 1990, the space became Broussard's Cajun Cuisine. It closed by 1997.

The historic building at 4301 South Broadway is still standing. Whole Louisiana frogs with tartar sauce are no longer offered.


4301 South Broadway