Derrick, poet
I come here seven days a week. It's peaceful, relaxing, I can write poetry. Me and my team have meetings here. We call it the office. It is kinda like home. Also, this is the closest Bread Co. to me. And it's cool to see different talents walk in and out, all the creative artistry, just by being at Bread Co."
"It's the atmosphere. To get away from the whole crazy. I'm homeless. I come here, write poetry, and watch the sunset." |
Student
"We come once a week to do homework, get coffee... I've been coming 13 years. I like that it's central and you can walk around to nearby places and eat something."
Jeffery, father
"The last couple years I've been coming here because my daughter takes voice lessons and they rehearse nearby. I live further west but when I come here I grab lunch, dinner...If it closes, where would I eat? Subway? (frowns). I don't know of any places where I could sit down and work."
"Every time I'm here there are people having meetings. 40 percent of the time, a church group. some group planning a high school reunion, there's always a meeting at that table (points)." |
Pastor J
"This place is a missionfield for me, place for me to engage people where they really are. For me, it's my satellite office. I explain to people that only at this Bread Co. do I have the opportunity to practice what I preach, feeding people, ministering to people sharing with people..This Bread Co. helps me to personify the word. Any Bread Co. I can get a plain bagel but I can't get the experience."
"Because of this Bread Co. I come here 10-12 times per month."
"Because of this Bread Co. I come here 10-12 times per month."
Merdean, Nigel, and Anthony, The Official St. Louis Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Planning Committee (other members not pictured)
"This location is in the hub of where Dr. Martin Luther King was, where we were fighting racism. We see it as a community. It's a meeting space. And it's where we plan of the city's main events."
"Morning to night there's people in here. It brings multicultural peoples together. The Brentwood one is not as diverse... It's a vital location.." "If it closes I would only come to The Loop for special occassions, show it off to visitors. That'd be my only reason. Other than that, no, not regularly. No way." |
Sunjoo, researcher
"I like Bread Co., it's more homey than Starbucks or Kaldis. It gives you more space and more comfort. It's quieter than most places because we have distance between tables... you're not pushed around by people like in some restaurants..."
"There's no place like this in The Loop. It's very busy. No comfortable place to go." |
Lauren, social worker
"I work next door, it's so convenient. And my daughters love the mac and cheese, and of course the cookies, right?"
"It's a good place for people who don't drink. I just heard a lady at another table say she'd been sober for 14 years. There's not a lot of places down here for people who don't drink." |
Neighbor
"It's convenient, one of the cleaner restaurants. That means a lot to me, to eat a clean restaurant. And the food seems good and real affordable. You could spend this much at Steak and Shake but it not be that good."
"It's really diverse. It's interesting to see who's here. I'm glad to see different people. Some parts of St. Louis aren't like that. All the same people. It's boring."
"I don't patronize much down here. Some of the businesses I used to go to have closed. This is the most reasonably priced place to get something to eat that's halfway decent."
"It's really diverse. It's interesting to see who's here. I'm glad to see different people. Some parts of St. Louis aren't like that. All the same people. It's boring."
"I don't patronize much down here. Some of the businesses I used to go to have closed. This is the most reasonably priced place to get something to eat that's halfway decent."
Eleanie, business owner
Lee, social worker
"I come every week. Started coming when it was down further east on Delmar. I've lived in Ucity a lot. Now I come here because I meet a friend for lunch. It's a convenient place for him to meet me, he can walk home. He comes every morning with his wife."
Ciara
Linnise
"It's convenient, the center of everything for me. I can go to the gym, do reading, I can meet with my friend. I'm here a lot."
Lauren, social worker
Henry, graduate student
It's a comfortable location. It's hard to find a place to concentrate, to study, and do your work. Look how many people are here!"
Brandon, business owner
Deb, professor
"I'm a professor. I've always met students here, I've done this for seven years, especially the work for my master's class. It's the perfect place. Everyone knows where it is."
Carrie, activist
Diane and Freda
"Everybody's got their favorite Bread Co. Right now, I like this one. It's big enough, light enough, clean enough. It's between our homes. The oatmeal is good. Mostly, it's geograpically close."