11 Responses to “Little Bevo”

1. Curtis Miller August 4th, 2007 at 4:56 PM

   Hmm… don’t know anything about that building either. Though I have driven by there a number of times and wondered myself. Hope you learn something you can share!

2. esceezeroten August 8th, 2007 at 8:45 AM

   It’s hard to imagine that it has the same level of pigheadedness in its backstory as, say, the Avalon Theatre.
   A good guess would be that it’s your good old-fashioned White Elephant.
   I can tell you, with a fairly high degree of authority, that its primary purpose Back in the Day was rentals for private parties, etc.
   Question to readers: Is it even possible to do Old World Germanic style in the New World and NOT be kitsch? I have to wonder….
   SC

3. DeBaliviere August 9th, 2007 at 2:00 PM

   I’ve always been fascinated by this building. I would LOVE to see what it looks like on the inside.

   It looks like the upper floor was tuckpointed fairly recently.

4. Doug Duckworth August 16th, 2007 at 1:36 PM

   I hate Styx too but this building makes me want to eat a schnitzel and grab a stein of bock.

5. Anonymous August 22nd, 2007 at 2:50 PM

   I remember drinking in the bar there sometime in the late 80s or early 90s. The bar was definitely a period piece.

6. stlmark August 22nd, 2007 at 3:02 PM

   I actually like this kitchy building, but I too hate stix. Dennis D. Young in particular…what an ass.

7. David Ackerman November 10th, 2007 at 2:37 PM

   I grew up not far from there, and during my childhood, I occasionally wandered down to a local street fair called Bevo days. (At least then the neighborhood immediately surrounding Delore and Morganford was called Bevo.)

   Anyway, the mill always intrigued me, and so little Bevo caught my attention too. My understanding from my grandparents was that it was owned by the same people as big Bevo (alias Bevo Mill), but it was less expensive. Kind of a back bar, if you will. (I think there was a dime store next to it, so the more downscale use was consistent with the block.)

   It certainly was a restaurant, in a Germanic theme, and given that it’s larger neighbor was developed by none other than Anheuser Busch in order to promote their soft drink by the same name (along with the feasting fox and a third restaurant whose name I forget).

   It’s probably no coincidence that they got into the theme park business. I believe the Forest Park Highlands was at least part owned by AB, and they were the movers and shakers behind the dairy barn that later came to be known as the Arena. (The World’s Fairs of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were some of the models of the modern theme park idea, and the Busch family was surely familiar with them.)

   I would guess this was a later expansion while still under Busch control. It was probably all sold to the same people when AB got rid of it. And those later people probably spun off or closed the smaller restaurant. Brings back some memories, anyway.

   I for one am happy as a clam to see disused landmarks of my childhood back in business. I hope little Bosnia makes good use of this property. Thanks. Sorry I can’t really answer much, but it’s fun thinking about it.

   Sincerely,
   david_ackerman@yahoo.com

8. Anonymous November 9th, 2008 at 5:20 PM

   WHAT DON’T WE GET THE ALDERMAN OF THE 14 WARD TO PUT ANOTHER BAR THERE, WE ONLY HAVE ABOUT 20 OF THEM AREADY… THATS ABOUT THE BEST THING HE CAN DO, HE SPENDS ENOUGH TIME IN THEM AREADY…….

9. Theme Parks August 6th, 2009 at 10:16 AM

   Yeah, the building indeed looks unattractive. I feel like it is going to topple over anytime from the angle the picture was taken. However, what seem to be unattractive may infact be a treasure.

10. Southside John March 11th, 2010 at 7:33 AM

    I was reminiscing about a good time I had a Little Bevo. It was the later half of the 70’s when Elvis Costello played there on his first tour of the US. We watch in amazement at a 45 minute set of intense rock and roll – the early Costello. A short set for sure but most memorable. It was my first hearing of Radio Radio. Elvis dedicated the song (most appropriately to KSHE) because they sponsored the show but refuse to put his group into the playlist. The show was broadcast on another radio station so there should be tapes out there of the show. So thanks for the picture of the building – I can still see the tour bus parked in front in my mind’s eye. Southside John.

11. admin March 12th, 2010 at 6:07 PM

    Southside John, I checked in with some older rock & roll friends about th Elvis show you reference, and turns out it was not in Little Bevo, but in the large building on the west side of Gravois at Delor, which is now a florist. The club was called River Days, and The Good Rats, Blondie Chaplin and Clover played there as well during the short time the club was operating.