The historic Eat-Rite Diner near downtown St. Louis recently reopened as Fleur STL, a brunch restaurant.
Local chef Tim Eagan, who acquired the building not long after it closed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced it would be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. His Facebook post showed a sample of what Fleur STL is offering:
Yes, that’s a bottle of Ski soda in one of the photos. Ski is made and bottled less than an hour away from St. Louis in Breese, Illinois.
A couple of locals went to Fleur STL and weighed in on it favorably:
Joel and Shawna Holtman bought the Eat-Rite, renovated and reopened it in the spring of 2018 after its aging owner closed it the previous fall when the building encountered mechanical issues.
The Eat-Rite was an old-school gem where one could order cheeseburgers by the half-dozen or a slinger (a mess of fried eggs, hash browns, cheese and hamburger patties slathered with chili and onions) made to order.
The Eat-Rite — known for its “Eat Rite or Don’t Eat At All” motto — sits on an old Chouteau alignment of Route 66 and only a block from the better-known Tucker Boulevard alignment of 66.
According to Norma Maret Bolin’s “Route 66 St. Louis” book, a business has existed at the Eat-Rite site since 1916. Originally a coal-selling venture, it became a gas station during the 1920s. It converted into a White Kitchen restaurant in 1936, then a Regal Sandwich Restaurant in 1957, then Gateway Sandwich in the 1960s and ’70s. It finally morphed into the Eat-Rite in 1986.
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