Maplewood did not set out to recruit businesses with a commitment to local art, farmers and fashion. That was more a function of the neighborhood's cheap rents, central location and serendipity. But city leaders have been smart enough to capitalize on a good thing. They clean the streets daily, fund festivals and events and — do not underestimate this final point — return phone calls.

"That may not seem like a big deal, but it means a lot to know I can get in touch with the mayor and that people at City Hall will be responsive," said Dan Kopman, co-owner of Schlafly Beer. "That's why I call Maplewood a small town. Everyone has a stake in each other's success."

For generations, families took the streetcar to Maplewood to shop or throw strikes at the historic Saratoga Lanes, open since 1916. But as residents fled to far-flung suburbs and their air-conditioned malls in the 1960s, the city tumbled from hot destination to hard-luck case.

Maplewood finally regained its footing in 2004 with the debut of Schlafly Bottleworks. Kopman never set out to resurrect the 10,000-person town when he happened upon an empty Shop ’n Save at Southwest Avenue and Manchester Road.

“We were looking at old grocery stores, but this one wasn’t on our radar,” Kopman recalled. “Within 24 hours, the mayor and the city manager and I were trying to put it together. We weren’t planning on having a restaurant, but the city — how shall I say this? — strongly encouraged us to take that leap.”

Kopman didn’t want to replicate the Tap Room, the downtown pub that pays tribute to beer’s old-world heritage. So he decided the Bottleworks would celebrate all things local.

At first that meant serving Missouri bison. Today it hosts a weekly farmers market featuring regional producers; hundreds of community events, ranging from the Slow Food Movie Series to Theology at the Bottleworks; and, this weekend, Art Outside, an upstart art fair featuring only local artists.

That commitment to localism extends down Manchester Road and Sutton Boulevard.

Maven sells jewelry from local designers Scarlett Garnet, Acero serves tenderloin from Missouri Grass Fed and Hoffman LaChance Contemporary showcases St. Louis’ top emerging artists.

“Local is a big part of Maplewood’s identity,” said Rachelle L’Ecuyer, Maplewood community development director. “The city is taking a stand — we are only going up, and it’s because of the strength of local business. You have this world-class dining in Monarch and Acero, and you have your neighborhood shops. Each has its own personality, and they all help each other.”

Business owners credit L’Ecuyer for marketing those disparate personalities as a viable scene — a lively destination for a girls’ night of shopping at Femme and dining on Cuban tapas at Boogaloo, or drinking organic coffee at ubergreen Foundation Grounds, or watching local theater at the Black Cat.

L’Ecuyer also created Let Them Eat Art, an annual Bastille Day party featuring music on the streets, local art and oddball activities. Harp Attack in the spring and Fiddle Fest in the fall also put live musicians in shops and galleries.

And every quarter, Maplewood hosts an art walk at its 20 arts-related businesses. The next walk is scheduled for Oct. 8.

“That was a hilarious mistake,” L’Ecuyer said. “I noticed one guy had an opening at 4 o’clock and another person was open until midnight, so I just sent out something about eight hours of art in Maplewood. So someone who owns a gallery had a fit — ‘How could you guys plan this without me?’ The light went off, ‘Well, of course, we should do a formal art walk.’ ”

The city’s comeback strategy — scratching its way back one event and shop at a time — runs counter to the TIFs and giveaways other cities have tried. In 2005, Maplewood did flirt with the idea of putting a big-box retailer downtown. Community resistance was swift, angry and organized.

“We didn’t want to lose our main street,” said Matt Williams, who owns TKO DJs and St. Louis Cellars. “People come here because each of these businesses is its own destination. Maplewood is where it is today because we are authentic.”

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Hoffman LaChance Contemporary

2713 Sutton Boulevard, hoffmanlachancefineart.com, "NewPop II" by Stan Chisholm Runs through Sept. 23

Artists Michael Hoffman and Alicia LaChance have a simple curatorial approach for their 700-square-foot Hoffman LaChance Contemporary gallery.

“We just pick artists we like,” Hoffman said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s abstract or figurative or sculptural. They just have to be excited about what they are doing.”

Like artist Stan Chisholm, one of the hottest — and busiest — names in art locally. Chisholm’s new solo exhibit, “NewPop II” features floating words and phrases (“Magic,” “Try to Fail,” “Slaughter All Celebrities”) carved out of Styrofoam. Chisholm could have put the words to page, but by transforming them into objects, he hopes to amplify their meaning.

“When you put human effort into sculpting (the lines), people are going to think harder about the principle behind the words,” Chisholm said.

During installation, Hoffman gave Chisholm the key to the gallery and access to the Schlafly in the fridge. For about two weeks, Chisholm lived on site, carving during the day, crashing on an air mattress at night.

“I would come back every few days, and there would be new surprises like this mound of dirt,” said Hoffman, pointing to a makeshift grave marked by Chisholm’s tombstones. “We give people free rein.”

Since Hoffman and LaChance moved their gallery from Clayton to Maplewood in 2004, a number of photographers and graphic designers have set up shop along Sutton Boulevard.

“A sort of community has developed among us,” Hoffman said.

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Focal Point

2720 Sutton Boulevard, thefocalpoint.org, Rough Shop 8 p.m. tonight, $10, Cumberland Gap 8 p.m. Saturday, $10, Colin Blair 8 p.m. Sept. 24, $10

Desperation, not design, landed Focal Point in Maplewood in 2000. After staging folk concerts in Webster Groves, Focal Point was getting the boot. As it so happened, folk fanatic Jay Schober owned the vacant building next to the Maya Café, his Maplewood hot spot.

The space boasted the cozy vibe and good acoustics fans expect from Focal Point performances. And underneath the ratty carpet was a beautiful wood floor perfect for traditional Irish dancing and Cajun stomping.

“I immediately liked the neighborhood, but I had no idea it was going to blossom,” artistic director Judy Stein said. “Maplewood is unpretentious, and so are we. A lot of very talented, intelligent, friendly people moved here before it was hip to do so, and so the neighborhood maintains that laid-back feel. It’s just less grubby today.”

Focal Point’s 35th season features local bands Rough Shop (today) and Cumberland Gap (Saturday) and songwriter Carrie Newcomer (Oct. 17). The 110-seat venue serves as a quiet alternative to bars, although fans are welcome to bring over beer or a killer margarita from the adjacent Maya Café.

“Performers love us because of the superior sound,” Stein said. “It really is a listening room. Musicians can interact with the audience.”

Focal Point also welcomes poetry societies and traditional dance groups. Newcomers always are welcome to try Morris, Zydeco, Irish or English country dancing. “Just like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy,” Stein said.

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Nosh

7322 Manchester Road, 314-647-6966

Nosh is not the only restaurant in Maplewood to prepare local meats and organic produce. Acero, Monarch, Foundation Grounds and Schlafly Bottlewoks all showcase Missouri’s bounty. But only Nosh serves its lamb burgers with an organic strawberry-basil mojito.

“You wouldn’t think the strawberry and basil would work together, but once you have one sip, you’ll see.” general manager Carlin Starr said.

Nosh opened this summer and already has emerged as a neighborhood favorite and a must-visit destination for brunch lovers craving lobster and free-range eggs. Starr runs the front of the house; her mother, Paula Anderson, does the cooking. And no, they don’t fight.

“That’s the first question everyone asks,” Starr said. “We’re best friends. I grew up in the kitchen. She was always teaching me things. It was natural that we would do this together.” 

Andy Ayers, founder of Riddles Penultimate and Eat Here St. Louis, has connected Nosh with local growers who provide most of the produce for the Mediteranean-inspired menu of reasonably priced salads, sandwiches and kebobs. 

“We have a guy right here in Maplewood who grows heirloom, organic tomatoes in his urban garden,” Starr said. “We’ve always had a passion in our family for organic and local. Since I was a little kid we would go to the farmers market and pick out fruits and veggies.”

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Art Outside

Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Avenue, schlafly.com, 5-10 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, noon-4 p.m. Sunday

It wasn’t exactly spite that motivated Schlafly co-founder Dan Kopman to stage the upstart art festival Art Outside. But when the St. Louis Art Fair decided to shut Schlafly beers out of its 2004 event, Kopman took action.

“I was having a beer with some friends who are artists, and I was bemoaning our situation with the art fair,” Kopman said. “They told me they feel the same way because so few local artists have access. The light went off: Why don’t we have our own art fair in Maplewood?”

Today, Art Outside draws thousands of art lovers who appreciate the juried fair’s affordable mix of jewelry, pottery, clothing and painting. This weekend’s event will feature about 50 local artists and a dozen bands, as well as beer tours and tastings, and art activities for children.

Tim Jordan is among the artists returning to this year’s festival. A Bottleworks bartender, Jordan is a three-time winner of Art Outside’s “Least Likely to be at an Art Fair” award.

“I am ready to reclaim my title,” said Jordan, who pours molten glass through typewriters to create sculptures that are oddly delicate and, at about $100 a pop, fairly priced.

“Everybody says metal does not mix with glass, he said. “But the guys from Third Degree were fearless in helping me do this. You can see the relationship between the metal and the glass.”

Jordan also will perform music on his typewriter at 9 p.m. today. A spiritual vision first prompted Jordan to play a typewriter naked in a Lawrence, Kan., bar. He will be wearing clothes for this performance.

“Lawrence is a pretty liberal town but, when you play a typewriter naked, people tend to show up,” said Jordan, whose home is packed with garage-sale typewriters (manuals only — electrics can’t handle the force and speed of Jordan’s pounding). “The keys fall into high hat or snare depending on how I play it. The shift key has a deeper tone.”

Today’s other acts are Maid*Rite and Pretty Little Empire. The Wayward Mountaineers, Bunnygrunt, puppet-show performer Paul Vandivort and Theodore are among Saturday’s entertainers. The Notable Haberdashers play Sunday.

“We have become a complement to the St. Louis Art Fair, not a competitor,” said Stewart Wolff, Schlafly’s event and tour manager. “The more there is to do, the better for all of St. Louis. At the same time, our event is getting more and more applicants and keeps getting better.”

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St. Louis Cellars

2640 South Big Bend Boulevard, 314-880-9000, saintlouiscellars.com, All About Argentina 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Fall Fling Noon Sept. 25

Wine snobs may sneer at names like Mommy’s Time Out, Ass Kisser or, our favorite, Writer’s Block. But St. Louis Cellars founder Matt Williams insists that novice customers are drawn to clever labels and cheeky names. Or maybe they just like the cheap prices and free samples.

“We need excellent juice in the bottle, but we want a fun label or an exciting design or a really cool name because the whole process of enjoying a bottle of wine is very social,” said Williams, who operates the business with his wife, Jennifer. “If you can personalize that bottle to that person or that event, then it makes it all that more special. The wine industry is just now realizing that the label can sell the wine.”

Jennifer runs St. Louis Closet Co.; Matt operates TKO DJs. Together, they manage more than 100 Maplewood residential properties.

“Wine has always been our hobby,” Matt Williams said. “We felt there wasn’t a great place to shop. Many wine stores are intimidating, and yet at some of the grocery stores, you just don’t get any help.”

Most wines at St. Louis Cellars sell for less than $20. The bottles are not organized by varietal or region, but by the wine’s body in lighted wine racks. The shop offers daily wine tastings, a monthly wine club and regular classes.

“What were the chances that these two would open an impeccably organized wine store that would be really fun to visit?” jokes Diane Blaskiewicz who has worked with the Williamses since she was a teenage disc jockey for TKO. “It’s sort of a perfect marriage of what they do best.”