New life in Old Town Florissant: a bakery, pizzeria and brewery take form amid a pandemic

FLORISSANT — A few new businesses cropping up in Old Town Florissant are defying the often-bleak picture painted of north St. Louis County, and they’re doing it amid a pandemic that’s keeping people home.

A craft bakery is set to open for to-go orders in the coming weeks. A wood-fired pizza place began carryout in June. And a brewery making its beer in the basement of a mainstay Italian restaurant is readying to open its own tap room sometime next year.

Florissant has struggled to keep some of its larger retailers. While the population of the county’s biggest city has stabilized, it was hit by a wave of brick-and-mortar closings in recent years, including Lowe’s, Pier 1, Kmart and Shop ‘n Save. And in scenes reminiscent of its neighbor Ferguson, Florissant has been a major target of protests this summer after one of its officers was caught on camera striking a Black man with a police vehicle. The officer has been fired.

But the owners of these three Old Town businesses all live in Florissant. Some grew up here. And they are investing in the town they love even as the coronavirus decimates shops and restaurants here and everywhere.

https://www.stltoday.com/business/local/new-life-in-old-town-florissant-a-bakery-pizzeria-and-brewery-take-form-amid-a/article_f7b84863-9ad5-5809-ad82-60fb1df5a03f.html