The windows at 1913 and 1915 Park Avenue have been dark since late summer. A few doors up, at 1919 Park, Park Avenue Coffee still opens at 7 a.m. Around the corner on South 18th Street, a renovated 1890s building now has a garden out front and a pastry case inside.
Taken together, those three addresses show how Lafayette Square's dining map changed this summer. The neighborhood lost the two Park Avenue spots that existed for lingering: a dessert bar and a wine shop with seats. The only new opening went the other way, toward breakfast, lunch and the 18th Street corner. For the rest of 2026, a late glass of wine or a slow dessert in the Square means a table at a full restaurant.
Thirty Days in August
The changes landed close together.
| Date in 2026 | Address | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Aug. 1 | 1915 Park Ave. | Baileys' Chocolate Bar closes after service |
| Aug. 28 | 1913 Park Ave. | 33 Wine Shop & Bar serves its final night |
| Aug. 31 | 1410 S. 18th St. | Picky Café opens |
The Ladue News August 2026 roundup put all three in a single month's list of citywide openings and closings, with 33 described as a "Lafayette Square favorite."
Two Closings, One Explanation
Neither closing was about the neighborhood. Both came down to what it now costs to run a small restaurant.
33 Wine Shop & Bar had been part of the Park Avenue business district since 2001. That's 25 years, long enough that St. Louis Magazine called it "an anchor" of the strip. Owner James Smallwood told the magazine that costs were rising while revenue was falling.
"The costs were going through the roof. We were dealing with death by a thousand cuts. And we realized, we just can't do this anymore."
Baileys' Chocolate Bar closed as part of a reorganization at Baileys' Restaurants, the group owned by Dave and Kara Bailey. Baileys' Range in Shaw closed the same day. In a release covered by St. Louis Magazine, the group said the move would free up resources for its two Rooster locations and its catering business. In the same story, Dave Bailey pointed to "increased food costs, rising interest rates, and labor issues" along with financial obligations. First Alert 4 also reported the closures and the Aug. 1 last day.
Both businesses were small, specialized and focused on evenings, and those are the formats most exposed when food, labor and borrowing costs rise together.
The New Opening Went to 18th Street, and to Mornings
Picky Café opened at 1410 S. 18th St. on Monday, Aug. 31. It's a café, market and garden in about 1,100 square feet. The menu covers breakfast, lunch, baked goods, coffee and smoothies, and the retail side sells local produce, flowers, curated goods and grab-and-go food.
How it's set up explains why a new food business could open in the same month two others closed. Owner Erin Budde built the concept with her sister, Bethany Budde Cohen, who has run SqWires across the street at 1415 S. 18th for 25 years. SqWires works as Picky's commissary kitchen, and Picky sells SqWires' prepared foods in its market. Picky doesn't need a full kitchen of its own in a small footprint, and its shelves give an established restaurant a second place to sell what it already makes.
Budde described the idea to St. Louis Magazine as "small enough that I could landscape beautifully, garden, and raise vegetables," with "a really small menu." St. Louis Public Radio also included it in its August roundup of openings.
So South 18th now has a matched pair facing each other: a full-service restaurant on one side and a daytime café and market on the other, sharing a kitchen.
Where a Late Glass of Wine Lives Now
With 33 and the Chocolate Bar gone, an evening out without a full dinner falls to the restaurants that keep a bar open. Here's when each one stays open, based on hours they post themselves:
| Spot | Address or street | Evening hours as posted |
|---|---|---|
| Square One Brewery & Distillery | Park Ave. district | Kitchen until 9 p.m. Mon–Thu, 10 p.m. Fri–Sat, 8 p.m. Sun; bar runs an hour later |
| Eleven Eleven Mississippi | Mississippi Ave. | Until 9 p.m. Tue–Thu; until 10 p.m. Fri; Sat dinner 4–10 p.m. |
| Polite Society | Park Ave. district | Dinner nightly from 5 p.m. |
| SqWires | 1415 S. 18th St. | Lunch and dinner Tue–Sat |
Each one fills a different piece of what closed:
- Square One has the latest bar on this list, open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Its drinks list covers beer, cocktails, wine and spirits, and it distills its own.
- Eleven Eleven Mississippi calls itself a Tuscan and California wine-country restaurant with a lively bar, which makes it the closest match on the list for people who went to 33 for the wine.
- SqWires runs a half-price wine night on Wednesdays with an entrée, a regular weekly reason to open a bottle in the neighborhood.
- Polite Society serves dinner every night of the week starting at 5 p.m.
Weekend Daytime Got Deeper
During the day the neighborhood came out ahead. Picky's breakfast and lunch join a weekend brunch lineup that was already full:
- Park Avenue Coffee, 1919 Park Ave., lists hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, and 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday on its location page.
- Polite Society serves brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
- Square One opens at 10 a.m. on weekends for brunch.
- SqWires runs weekend brunch with a Bloody Mary and mimosa bar and closes at 2 p.m. on Sundays.
- Eleven Eleven Mississippi serves Saturday brunch from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. before reopening for dinner.
- Vicini Pastaria, the handmade-pasta café and market, serves counter-service lunch only. Its calendar listed a short closure through Oct. 15, with service resuming Oct. 16 from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
With Picky in the mix, a Saturday can now start with coffee and pastries on 18th Street and end with brunch on Park without repeating a stop. Weeknights after 9 p.m. look thinner than they did in July.
The Two Storefronts, and December
No new tenant, buyer or concept has been announced for 1913 or 1915 Park. Back in July, Dave Bailey told St. Louis Magazine that the Chocolate Bar space was open to "buy, lease, or takeover options," and that "both would make great second-generation restaurant spaces." A second-generation space already has its restaurant buildout in place, which can shorten the path to reopening when someone does sign on.
Until that happens, the holiday season will be the first in years without either Park Avenue spot. Two neighborhood events are on the calendar at lafayettesquare.org:
- Light Up the Square + James "Jim" King Pet Parade is set for Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026. Costumes are encouraged for pets and people, there are costume-award categories, and more details are still to come.
- The 2026 Holiday Parlor Tour and Holiday Market runs Sunday, Dec. 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Trolley or carriage rides and local vendors are planned, and the neighborhood says it will post details closer to the date.
On Dec. 13 the tour ends at 4 p.m. Polite Society starts dinner at 5, and Square One's kitchen is open until 8 on Sundays, with the bar running an hour later. On Sundays, SqWires and Vicini both close earlier in the day, so plan the post-tour stop around the places with Sunday evening hours.
Watching storefronts like 1913 and 1915 Park change hands is a big part of how I read a neighborhood. If you're curious what a second-generation restaurant space on Park Avenue means for the blocks around it, or you just want to compare notes on the Square, The Drew Group is always glad to talk it through. Let's connect.
