Lost Tables: Lemmons

Lemmons

Curtis Clayton Lemmons was born on May 20, 1905 in Birdell, Arkansas. By 1934, Lemmons was living in St. Louis, where he married Emma Kaeshamer. In 1940, they both worked at the Chipeson Restaurant at 3759 South Jefferson, he as a waiter and she as a cook and waitress.

By 1946, Lemmons owned and operated the Opp's Chicken Dinner restaurant and tavern on Highway 30 in Fenton. In 1947, Lemmons sold Opp's to Julius Voss, who had been supplying him with chickens for his restaurant.

Opp's in Fenton
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oct 26, 1947


Circa 1950 Opp's Menu (click image to enlarge)

The same year he sold Opp's, Lemmons purchased the Wanda Cafe, a restaurant in St. Louis on Gravois Road near Christy Boulevard. He changed the name of his new restaurant to Lemmons.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Apr 9, 1950

Curtis Lemmons served the same chicken dinners at his new restaurant as he had at Opp's. Lemmons Restaurant soon became known for its fried chicken, as well as its channel catfish.

Curtis Lemmons died on May 17, 1969.

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At age 10, George Pirone Jr. began working with his parents at Pirone's Bar & Grill on Arsenal in St. Louis. Pirone was in the Navy in World War II, serving as a Chief Commissary Steward. He often said he cooked his way across the Pacific and never once fired his gun.

In 1961, George Pirone purchased Lemmons Restaurant from Curtis Lemmons.


Lemmons Restaurant	George Pirone

Lemmons had three dining rooms on the main floor, six on the second floor and a rathskeller. The restaurant continued to serve its popular fried chicken and channel catfish. It also became known for its homemade French dressing, fried shrimp and lemon meringue pie.

In his April 23, 1975 St. Louis Post-Dispatch review, restaurant critic Joe Pollack enjoyed Lemmons' famous fried chicken, but the catfish and lemon pie fell short of his expectations.

The chicken was delicious. It came from the kitchen at the perfect moment, with the meat still moist and tender, the crust just right..
The Companion, her appetite whetted by the chance for catfish, went in that direction and received a surprise. The fish was splendid, with proper flavor and texture, but the crust was dishearteningly tough, with no relationship to the good coating on the chicken.
Lemon pie, of course, has to be the dessert feature at Lemmons, so we went for it. It had excellent flavor, but I found the texture a touch on the gummy side.

Lemmons Dining Room, 1965


Late 1970s Lemmons Menu (click image to enlarge)

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Joe Tucci was a popular South St. Louis entertainer. He and his Italian Review played on the radio and at various public and private events, including on Bevo Day.

In December of 1983, Joe Tucci bought Lemmons Restaurant from George Pirone.

For a time, Tucci entertained at his restaurant on the organ or accordion.

I play "Come Back To Sorrento" for the Italians, "Du-Du" for our German patrons and "Havah Negilah" for the Jewish diners.

But Tucci found it impossible to play, answer the phone and seat customers all at the same time.

There was just too much going on that I needed to watch without being an entertainer as well.


Joe Tucci	Joe Tucci, 2018

While Tucci dabbled with entertainment, he kept the menu at Lemmons pretty much the same.

When I bought Lemmons, I inherited much of the help and the recipes for its signature items. We've tried to make things go smoothly over the years.
I've been able to add a few Italian things to the menu and people seem to like them, such as veal parmigiana and veal Marsala and a few pastas. But at least half of the people order the fried chicken and lemon pie.

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In 1998, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) purchased the restaurant at 5800 Gravois from Joe Tucci to use as its headquarters. Shortly thereafter, there were allegations of financial mismanagement of the restaurant by DAV members. The organization sold Lemmons in January of 2002.

Lemmons Restaurant, circa 1999

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In 2002, Mike Gross and Dave Difani reopened Lemmons as a sports bar and music venue. They had been searching for a spot to expand Difani's business, the Black Thorn Pub, a hangout for softball players, pizza fans and alternative-music types, located a few blocks from Tower Grove Park.

In Lemmons, they found a venue that would serve all of their patrons ― locals could shoot darts on the top floor, families and singles could eat pizzas in the dining room, and indie music fans could hear cutting edge bands in the basement.

The only thing that remained the same was the trademark sign. Gross admitted that everyone wasn't happy with the changes.

Yes, we get people who walk in here still and want fried chicken. Needless to say, some of them are a little disappointed to learn our specialty is pizza.
Lemmons has such a storied history that we wanted to show some respect to that legacy. We didn't feel we could retain it as a chicken palace, but we could keep the sign. Plus, it’s really cool.

Lemmons was not a chicken place. The menu offered the same pizza available at the Black Thorn, adding basic bar food like salads, chicken wings and chili cheese fries.

For twelve years, Lemmons was carried on the back of its bartenders, bookers and local bands. Though the spot served well enough as a sports bar, its real identity came from live music.

Live music at Lemmons

In June of 2014, Gross announced that his pizza joint and music venue would be closing.

The bottom line is the owner just wore out ― I'm worn out financially; worn out physically.
Since about this time last year we began to see a precipitous decline in attendance for the bands. There could be lots of reasons for that; could be there's more venues. Business is down in general, but the killer, the dramatic difference is, I believe, I didn't do a good job of putting the right people in a position to book the right bands.
When we run out of mozzarella cheese we're going to stop making pizzas. When the bar only has triple sec and amaretto, we're going to close the bar.

Lemmons, 2014

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After Lemmons closed its doors in August of 2014, the building was purchased by the Grbic family, who owned and operated Grbic’s, the Bosnian restaurant in the Dutchtown neighborhood. After a lengthy renovation, with the space gutted to its brick walls, Lemmons by Grbic opened to good reviews in May of 2017.

The family restaurant and sports bar served American-style food with a Balkan flare.The old Lemmons neon sign remained outside. A hint of the restaurant's past was also on the menu, which offered "Not Lemmons Fried Chicken."


Lemmons Entrance	Lemmons Menu (click image to enlarge)

Lemmons Dining Room and Bar

On January 21, 2021, a post on the Lemmons Facebook page echoed the same refrain as many other restaurants grappling with the pandemic.

While winter looms ahead, we have decided to do our part and shut our doors for a short bit to keep our guests, family, staff and friends safe. This was not an easy decision to make, but as we are surrounded by uncertainty, we are choosing to make decisions that put the health and safety of all people first.
We are working on a plan to reopen soon and will announce a date depending on the course of the pandemic. It’s been extremely difficult navigating our way through the past 10 months, and we rolled with each and every punch thrown our way and closing for a short while will help put us in a much better position to operate when we return.
We look forward to welcoming you all back in the not-too-distant future. We will take this time to grow as a company and make your future dining experiences with us even more memorable than before.

Lemmons by Grbic's doors remained shuttered.

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On November 18, 2022, Karen's Diner, a chain established in Sydney, Australia in 2021, opened at 5800 Gravois. According to their website:

Karen's is an interactive diner and an absurdly fun experience. At Karen's you will be greeted and waited upon by rude waiters and forced to play a variety of games. You can expect good food, good fun and a dining experience like you've never had before.

Karen's Diner closed on February 18, 2023.


Karen's Diner, 5800 Gravois