At last night's Soulard Restoration Group meeting there was a discussion about a new Subway planned for 7th and Geyer.

http://maps.google.com/?ll=38.60797,-90 ... 39,,0,4.21

Apparently, it is not the first time Subway (or more accurately one of their franchisees) has tried to build on this corner. They were told last time that any new building had to fit in the context of the neighborhood, and that a suburban design was unacceptable. They balked and backed away from the project.

They came back again with a proposal for the site that included a build up to the corner and second floor residential with no parking visible from 7th street. It sounds like it is far from a done deal, and the builder seems to still be fighting some of architectural requirements, but it would be interesting to see a chain fast food restaurant scrap their default store design to better blend in to their surroundings.

Strange. Subway is already practically across the street from that location (by Jimmy Johns). Also, there should soon be a new Subway not far away on Jefferson.

Dominos in Soulard is actually a decent example where a chain rehabbed an old building within the historic district.

^I should have specified new construction for a chain restaurant. The story Domino's has up on their wall is pretty cool, and is worth reading if you're in there waiting for a pizza.

I believe the franchisee that wants to build at 7th & Geyer operates the Subway over in Kosciusko, so the plan is to replace the existing location.