Soulard Market Gets a Make-over

Recently, I received an email from a neighbor, Ted Greenfield of Greenfield Customer Interiors on Meramec. Ted runs his flooring shop on Meramec about two blocks from my house, and it was his crew that refinished the floors gorgeously in the upper unit of my two-family. In addition to finding Ted at his shop, you will see him quite often, especially on Saturdays, at his booths at the Soulard Market. It is about recent improvements at the Soulard Market that Ted wrote to me, as follows:

New things have happened at Soulard Market in the past month. The old Schmidt Meat Market has been transformed to a new fish market. The new owners of the fish market have invested approximately 1/2 million dollars in transforming the stand from a meat market to a fish market.. The fish market is Seattle style. They cut & prepare the fish in front of you.

On 9th St. & Julia St., they have transformed the old BBQ stand into a cafe. It is called Julia's Market Cafe. They have also built a 16' X 27' patio deck. This is the first time that customers can sit, eat, & drink in Soulard Market.

On 7th & Lafayette, there use to be a produce stand across from Soulard Market that was taken over by the St. Louis Bread Company. When it was a produce stand, on top of the building there use to be a man pushing a banana cart. Supposedly the cart was brought here from Italy approximately from 1918 - 1928. When the produce stand closed, the SBA took the banana cart and had the cart refurbished. It was then used in the Mardi Gras parade for about 4 years. Then it was stored at Broadway Ford for about 12 years. Now the banana cart is being displayed on top of Julia's Market Cafe for everyone to enjoy.

Soulard Market has been making a good come back. It is about 80% full on Saturdays. It has not been this full for about 8 years.

If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Ted Greenfield at 314.581.5125. This is my cell phone number. Or you may contact Tom Gullickson at 314.276.4386. This is also his cell number. We are the owners of Julia's Market Cafe. Thank you very much.

It is great to hear that all of this is happening at the Soulard Market. Having recently visited Seattle, I am eager to check out our new fish market. I am also glad that a piece of St. Louis history has been saved and is prominently on display. The come back of the market is great for the City.