Shop Locally in Kirkwood on Small Business Saturday on Nov. 24

Start your holiday shopping at locally owned stores during Small Business Saturday.

Small Business Saturday is on Nov. 24 this year, two days after Thanksgiving. It is a day for everyone to support the small businesses that their community thrives on. American Express founded the day in 2010 to help small businesses get exposure during the holiday season, when they might be otherwise overlooked. With retailers buzzing around the holidays, it is important to support local small businesses that rely on their neighbors in order to continue prospering and building the local economy in Kirkwood. "Downtown Kirkwood has been championing concept (of shopping local) for four years, but it's really gotten to be a much larger thing when American Express got involved and put some of their media money behind it," said Donna Poe, …

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Owen Skoler

9:09 am on Tuesday, November 20, 2012

What do you think? Is every Saturday "Small Business Saturday" in Kirkwood?   more ›

Business Spotlight

Your Fall Guide to Downtown Kirkwood

Everything you need to about Dine Downtown Kirkwood, the Fall Festival of Local Flavor and the Kirkwood Farmers' Market.

The following information was provided by the Downtown Kirkwood Special Business District. Downtown Kirkwood’s restaurant week and specialty food promotion, Dine Downtown Kirkwood, is a week of dining, shopping and special activities planned for Oct. 7-13. The week will culminate with Downtown Kirkwood’s annual Fall Festival of Local Flavor. Dine Downtown Kirkwood Beginning Oct. 7, participating restaurants and specialty food businesses will dish out discounts on food and beverages. Many restaurants are offering $20.12 or $2.12 specials. Others have created their own dining special. A complete list of the specials will appear on the Downtown Kirkwood website, but these examples should whet your appetite: Steak Davido with salad, side and …

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Blues and Food at Kirkwood Farmers' Market

Here's a list of all the vendors who will be at the Kirkwood Farmers' Market Saturday. While you're shopping, enjoy live music.

Kirkwood Farmers' Market Happenings: Sept. 8

See which vendors will be at the market Saturday.

New Apple Festival Saturday in Downtown Kirkwood

The first Kirkwood Farmers' Market Apple Festival will celebrate the fruit with cooking demonstrations, music and tons of samples. Fun kicks off at 8 a.m.

Kirkwood Farmers' Market Gets New Festival

The first Kirkwood Farmers' Market Apple Festival will celebrate the fruit with cooking demonstrations, music and tons of samples.

The following article was submitted by the Downtown Kirkwood Special Business District. Kirkwood Farmers’ Market merchants are welcoming fall and celebrating the local apple harvest with an Apple Festival on Saturday, Sept. 1. This event is Kirkwood Farmers’ Market’s first Apple Festival. Visitors to Kirkwood will enjoy apple samples from local farmers as well as apple related treats and menu items at Kirkwood Farmers’ Market. Visitors to the farmers’ market will also have the opportunity to compare different varieties of apples. Apple lovers will learn to make a delicious apple and pork entrée. Travis Thompson will demonstrate how to prepare this appealing apple dish at 10 a.m. Following the cooking demonstration, The Lulus will add to …

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Rams Rookie Players Tour Kirkwood

A group of St. Louis Rams rookie players will make three stops at Kirkwood destinations, including Pi Pizzeria, The Magic House and Tropical Moose at the Kirkwood Farmers' Market.

Kirkwood residents interested in meeting some of this year's St. Louis Rams rookie players will be able to do so Friday at beloved Kirkwood landmarks. The players, who will be divided into four groups, will be leaving from their training center in Earth City at 11:30 a.m. to tour some of the area's most notable attractions. Each group will visit the location in the order listed below. The tour will end at 1:30 p.m. at each group's final destination. Here are the groups and their stops: Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 The Rams began “Rookie Week” in 2009 as a way to introduce the rookies to the St. Louis area by taking part in a variety of activities including hosting a youth football camp, participating in a charitable bowling event and …

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Farmers’ Market Kicks Off Morning Concert Series with Folk

Starting Saturday, June 2nd, the Kirkwood Farmers’ Markets will feature live music starting at 10 a.m..

This Saturday, early Kirkwood Farmers’ Market shoppers will have a chance to shop to the tune of folk music with the band Salt of the Earth, a St. Louis-based folk band. The concert is part of the farmers’ market Tunes at Ten series, which will showcase three different bands playing their music live on select Saturday mornings. Click on the YouTube video to listen to this weekend’s band. The schedule for the bands is as follows: June 2-Salt of the Earth June 9-UJ and the Downhome Blues Band June 30-Maple Jam Band July 14-UJ and the Downhome Blues Band July 21-Maple Jam Band Aug. 4-UJ and the Downhome Blues Band Aug 18-Salt of the Earth Aug 25-Maple Jam Band Sept. 15-UJ and the Downhome Blues Band

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Business Spotlight

Meet Chef Mel: Saucy and Determined

Melissa Dodd-Ruesing turns her passion for food into a thriving business.

Kirkwood-Des Peres Area Chamber member Melissa Dodd-Ruesing is like a superhero. By day she is a mild-mannered physical therapist assisting patients with their health and wellness. By night she becomes Chef Mel. She dons her Chef Mel shirt and apron and mixes up delicious concoctions in her kitchen bringing tasty goodness to the citizens of St. Louis. In other words, she’s determined and works hard both day and night to make her business a success.  It all started from a dream she had when she was five years old. “I remember the dream so vividly. In it, I was going to grow up and own a restaurant with the best pasta sauce and grilled cheese,” Dodd-Ruesing said. She doesn’t own a restaurant that sells grilled cheese but she does produce a …

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Vendor Turns Heads at World Cheese Awards

Bloomsdale cheese from Baetje Farms—available at Kirkwood and Webster Groves farmers markets—was named one of the top 16 cheeses in the world.

Bloomsdale cheese from artisan farmstead dairy farm Baetje Farms beat out 2,700 cheeses from 35 countries to become one of the top 16 cheeses in the world. Owners Steve and Veronica Baetje took Bloomsdale and several other cheeses to the World Cheese Awards 2011 in Birmingham, United Kingdom, where they won a super gold award, four silvers and a bronze for their artisan cheeses, according to Feast Magazine. Of the 50 super gold winners, judges selected 16—including Baetje's Bloomsdale—as top in the world. The Baetje's St. Genevieve farm sells its cheeses at the Webster Groves Farmers Market, which sent a big "off-season congratulations" to the farmers on its Facebook page. The Baetjes wake up at 3 a.m. every morning to milk their 53 goats …

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