Riddles Penultimate Andy Ayers was born in Overland. As a toddler, his family moved to Bridgeton, where he grew up and attended Pattonville High School. Ayers restaurant career began at the age of 16. He was hired as a busboy at the Howard Johnson's restaurant on North Lindbergh. On all-you-can-eat fried chicken nights, he was required to walk through the restaurant with a box of chicken strapped around his neck. He eventually became a senior busboy and then a waiter. Ayers dropped out of high school during his junior year, fleeing to Canada to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War. From Candida, he went to Guatemala with a girlfriend, finally returning home to deal with the draft a year later. Ayers was granted conscientious objector status. He was assigned to two years of civilian alternative service at the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Medical School kitchen and the Boone County Commodity Foods Warehouse. After finishing his service obligation, Ayers went to work at Caleco’s on Laclede Street. He quickly became the kitchen manager at the startup restaurant, and when the owners bought a second restaurant, Ayers became the manager at both locations. A few courses at Forest Park Community College furthered his knowledge of running a restaurant. About this time, Ayers met and married his wife Paula – he was 22 and she was 16. Very shortly thereafter, they had their first of three daughters.
In November of 1980, Andy and Paula Ayers
bought a failing pizza restaurant at 8418 Natural Bridge, across from the
University of Missouri-St. Louis campus and next door to the Bel-Nor
Police Station. The little building and police station remain.
The couple named their new restaurant "Riddles" after Paula's grandmother.
Riddles Restaurant seated about 30, including a few seats at the counter. It was open for lunch and dinner. The location demanded cuisine that was easily accepted by the college students. In addition to pizza, the initial menu offered salads, pasta, sandwiches and beer, later expanding to include chicken and veal dishes. The motto on the Riddles menu read, "Fresh Ingredients Means Good Eating." Ayers sold locally grown produce and meat long before it became fashionable.
In June of 1985, Andy and Paula Ayers relocated their restaurant to 6307 Delmar in University City. The more central location in the Delmar Loop had previously housed Bobby’s Creole. In addition to occupying a larger space, the eatery also sported a larger moniker – Riddles Penultimate Cafe & Wine Bar.
"I’m not sure exactly why," Ayers
responded when
asked about the "penultimate" designation. "I think I may have another
restaurant in me, somewhere down the line, and maybe I want to be
emotionally prepared for another move some day."
Riddles Penultimate had a long front room,
with a bar on the west wall and a low performance stage on the
opposite wall, near the front. A narrow passageway led to a large main dining room in the back.
With the move to the Delmar Loop, Ayers gave up his pizza oven and greatly expanded his menu, although the emphasis was still on local sourcing. Each guest was presented with two menus. The Standing Menu was comprised of long time favorites, some traditional preparations and some original preparations, none of which depended on seasonal ingredients. This menu included three of the restaurant's specialties – Chicken Major Grey, Chicken Rosé and Shrimp Sara. Ayers' Magical Garlic Potatoes also frequented this menu. The Daily Menu, as the name implied, was printed fresh each day. This menu featured delicious soups, fresh seafood, special appetizers and entrees, fresh-baked desserts and homemade ice cream flavors of the day. During the growing season, the daily menu was replete with local fruits and vegetables, including the names of the farmers who supplied them. While the entire menu didn't change each day, it was unlikely any two menus were the same.
Riddles made all of
its own ice cream, often up to 30 gallons in a day. "Ice cream sales
depend on the sunshine," Ayers observed. "If it’s cold and the sun
is shining, we sell a lot of ice cream. If it’s hot and cloudy,
sales fall off." Ice cream was often served with Riddles'
hot fudge
sauce, also made in-house. It was thick, dark, rich and hot, and
congealed as it hit the ice cream. And if you weren't in the mood for ice
cream, Paula Ayers baked wonderful pies.
Riddles was the first wine bar in St. Louis and
the first to offer a variety of wines by the glass.
Ayers’ wine list bulged with more that 300 labels, including the
best that Missouri wineries had to offer, further proof of his
commitment to local producers. The list included "a lot of everyday
wines as well as some of the heavy hitters for people celebrating
anniversaries," said Ayers. He also stocked some 50 beers, mostly
made by small producers. "I want to make it comfortable for people
to order good beer and wine, either by the glass or by the bottle,
as part of dinner," he said.
Riddles was an integral part of
the Delmar Loop’s revitalization. It was popular among students for
its locally sourced cuisine and extensive beer menu, and it attracted local musical
acts, with accessible weeknight
entertainment.
At age 14, Katherine "KT" Ayers, the middle Ayers daughter, began working regular shifts in the Riddles Penultimate kitchen. She chopped vegetables, baked breads, made sauces – whatever the kitchen manager, her dad (the chef) or her mother told her to do. Within a couple of years, when she’d learned the ropes, they allowed her to start experimenting. When she was 21, KT became chef and kitchen manager, supervising employees twice her age. In 2008, Andy and Paula Ayers sold Riddles Penultimate to KT.
"The restaurant business is really good for
young people," Ayers explained. "I worked seven days a week for 30
years. My middle daughter is 32, and she wanted to go into the
business."
On October 12, 2010, Riddles Penultimate Cafe & Wine Bar posted a sign saying it was closed for its annual two-week fall vacation. On November 3, the restaurant’s Facebook page pronounced it "closed until further notice." It was the height of the recession and business had slipped. KT had cut staff from 40 to 25. She had reduced the remaining workers’ hours and cut employees’ health benefits. Still, the doors were forced to close. "It was hard but not as hard as watching the ship go down," lamented KT. * * * * *
The Ayers family did indeed go on to their
"ultimate." KT became the executive chef at Schlafly Bottleworks in
Maplewood.
Paula Ayers went on to teach at the University
City Children's Center, after serving on the center's board of
directors for 7 years.
And Andy Ayers started Eat Here St. Louis,
which serves as a liaison between local farmers and the local chefs
clamoring for their products.
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