John's Town Hall, a mainstay for decades in the Dorchester Apartments on Skinker, appears to have closed permanently! A couple friends of mine used to bartend there, and while it could've used some updating on both menu items and decor, it certainly had an interesting history. It was also a quintessential neighborhood bar that welcomed regulars week after week (and even day after day). A somber (not sober!) farewell to a venerable St. Louis City institution. Given its fantastic parkside location in the high density DeMun neighborhood, let's hope that the space doesn't remain vacant for long.

STLgasm wrote:John's Town Hall, a mainstay for decades in the Dorchester Apartments on Skinker, appears to have closed permanently! A couple friends of mine used to bartend there, and while it could've used some updating on both menu items and decor, it certainly had an interesting history. It was also a quintessential neighborhood bar that welcomed regulars week after week (and even day after day). A somber (not sober!) farewell to a venerable St. Louis City institution. Given its fantastic parkside location in the high density DeMun neighborhood, let's hope that the space doesn't remain vacant for long.

It's likely that it's where I'm from that makes me think this, but going to a restaurant in an apartment building never appealed to me. I saw John's in the Dorchester and had a colleague who lived there, but when thinking of places to eat or grab a drink it just never crossed my mind.

Alex Ihnen wrote:
It's likely that it's where I'm from that makes me think this, but going to a restaurant in an apartment building never appealed to me. I saw John's in the Dorchester and had a colleague who lived there, but when thinking of places to eat or grab a drink it just never crossed my mind.

I think that has a lot to do with marketing (or lack thereof). I think the space has the potential to be a cool, low-key New York style lounge. Or maybe a coffeeshouse/brunch place?

Damn, I noticed the lights weren't on my most recent excursion to this area. I've always had a distant fascination with this place but didn't know exactly what this place was like. I had no idea it was in continuous operation so long, sounds like the kind of place I would have appreciated.