A long-rumored shipping container cafe may soon be constructed at 2622 Cherokee Street (at Texas Avenue) by owner and Cherokee Street investor Jason Deem.
The establishment’s name—Empire Cafe—is a throwback to the old Empire Sandwich Shop that once occupied the site. The building that housed the old iteration of Empire was torn down in 2006.
Below is the recently released rendering of the new Empire Cafe, to be constructed using several shipping containers (a novel mode of construction in St. Louis, but now popular in Europe and some coastal U.S. cities).
As shown above, the primary portion of the new structure would sit well off of Cherokee, leaving the front portion of the lot as an open space for seating.
Here is another angle (small photo):
Both renderings were obtained from Empire Cafe’s Facebook page.
From Geo St. Louis, below is a shot of the original Empire Sandwich Shop:
From the “About” section on Empire Cafe’s Facebook page:
Slated to open in Spring of 2014, Empire will be a community centered cafe offering a rotating menu of international street food sourced from local ingredients and purveyors with an emphasis on sustainability, seasonal availability, and health consciousness.
