The building on the southeast corner of Grand and Forest Park avenues in midtown STL — commonly called the "flying saucer" — is open for business as a Starbucks after being shuttered for more than a year.
Originally built in the 1960s at 212 South Grand, it was first the home of a Phillips 66 gas station. Its most recent tenant before Starbucks was a Del Taco store, which closed in the summer of 2011. When the idea of demolishing the building was floated, preservationists fought to save what they said was a prized example of mid-century modern architecture. It is within a district of low-rise and high-rise residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.
Caroline Corbett and Kellie Kruse, both sophs at SLU, said they made it a point to slip over to Starbucks on Opening Day.
"It's kind of nerdy, but we're both meteorology majors," Kruse said, "and we've always thought this would be a cool place for storm-watching."
Joe Holleman
Joe Holleman is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
