Business is brisk on Cherokee Street these days. This weekend, in fact, marked the opening of two food-and-beverage-related operations on the once-declining central street of the Cherokee Business District in South City. Whisk, a sustainable baked goods shop located at 2201 Cherokee St., held its grand opening on Saturday (marking the official move from farmers market vendor to brick-and-mortar operation). And at 2635 Cherokee St., one block west of Jefferson Avenue, The Fortune Teller Bar opened softly for a test run.
The Fortune Teller Bar is a venture by business partners Kristin Dennis, Matt Thenhaus and Sam Coffey. None is a stranger to the bar scene; Dennis and Thenhaus worked together at The Royale, while Thenhaus and Coffee both spent time working for Schlafly.
Eclectic is the keyword at The Fortune Teller Bar, where, according to Dennis, “strange, fortune teller-y vibes” will be the norm. The space was once home to a tavern called The Fortune Teller, and fortunes were indeed told there, as reported by Thomas Crone for The St. Louis Beacon. The current owners are bringing that bit of history back by enlisting fortune tellers to set up office Fridays and Saturdays in a fortune teller booth.
There will be eight rotating specialty cocktails, along with a house-made German mulled wine called Glühwein, German liqueurs, “weird Dutch stuff” according to Dennis, and other out-of-the-ordinary cordials, spirits and wines. On the beer side, patrons will find eight beers on tap – primarily local, and switched often – plus a number of bottled imports.
The restaurant at The Fortune Teller will offer cheese and charcuterie plates with house-made accompaniments, gourmet pizzas and other small plates. Dennis dubbed the food “hyper-local,” considering it will be sourced from nearby businesses, some even on the same block such as Black Bear Bakery.
The Fortune Teller will be closed until this Friday, when it will begin its regular hours, which are 4 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., every day except Sundays. More information about the bar is available on the Fortune Teller Bar’s Facebook page.
This article appears in November 2012.