LCRA Selects Developer to Re-Open Bevo Mill

The City of St. Louis Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority (LCRA) has selected Pat and Carol Schuchard, owners of the Boo Cat Club and Majorette event venues, to redevelop and operate the historic Bevo Mill.

The Schuchards were one of two respondents to LCRA's Request for Proposals (RFP) issued on March 31 seeking a new operator to either purchase or lease Bevo Mill and commit to investing a minimum of $1 million in upgrades to the building and its adjacent parking and outdoor spaces.The new operator must also commit to maintaining the historic character of the site as well as its trademarked name Bevo Mill, and comply with the City's goals for participation of minority- and women-owned businesses on the development project.

LCRA staff reviewed the two submitted proposals and recommended the Schuchard proposal for approval by the LCRA Board of Commissioners at its monthly meeting today.Today's board approval allows staff to begin negotiating the sale agreement with the Schuchards.

The husband-and-wife team plan to invest approximately $3.3 million over a four-year period in renovations.Their proposal includes renovating Bevo Mill into a coffeehouse with daily breakfast and lunch;creating a beer garden on the original site of the Bevo Mill Beer Garden scheduled to open in time for the 2016 Octoberfest;and attaching a new brewery/distillery to the existing building, which will be used as event space for live performances, art fairs, Sunday brunches, etc. The apartment on the second and third floors inside the facility will be renovated into a bed-and-breakfast.

"We selected the Schuchard proposal because it required the least amount of incentives, which gives us the best bang for the taxpayers' dollars.The Schuchard team also expressed a great willingness to work with and participate in the neighborhood's activities and goals for Bevo Mill," said Otis Williams, executive director, St. Louis Development Corporation, the City's economic development agency.

Located at 4749 Gravois Rd., the Bevo Mill consists of four dining/banquet rooms, approximately 600 square feet of office space on the second floor, and an approximately 1,200-square-foot apartment located on the second and third floors inside of the windmill.Adjacent spaces include 167 parking spaces and a patio.

In January 2009, Anheuser-Busch donated the 100-year-old South Side landmark to LCRA before InBev took over the brewery.Three months later, the Bevo Mill restaurant closed and LCRA issued an RFP for a new operator.LCRA selected L&M Catering as operator.L&M's lease will expire in June and the operators will be relocating.

The other respondent to the RFP was Hamilton Hospitality, Paul and Wendy Hamilton, owners of Vin de Set and 1111 Mississippi restaurants.