In recent years, finding a kosher restaurant in St. Louis required planning, compromise or both. Once home to dozens of kosher restaurants, delis and markets, the region has spent decades adjusting to fewer and fewer options. That reality began to shift in September 2025, when Corner Café opened in Chesterfield as a new kosher café in St. Louis, offering pizza, sushi and ice cream.
Corner Café is owned by siblings Dov Winter, Faigie Bienstock (Winter) and Nachi Winter, along with their spouses. For the family, opening a kosher restaurant in St. Louis was less about entrepreneurship than about service, continuity and answering a need they had felt growing up.
“Our family moved to Chesterfield in 1989, when my father, Rabbi Aaron Winter (zt’l), became the rabbi of Tpheris Israel Chevra Kadisha,” Nachi Winter said. “Under his leadership, Chesterfield grew into the community that now hosts a yeshiva, eruv, mikvah, kollel, early childhood center and more. Along with that growth came the need for a local kosher eatery.”
Today, that leadership continues, with Winter’s brother, Rabbi Moshe Winter, now serving as rabbi of the same congregation.
Why it took so long
Winter said the lack of options was something the family experienced personally for decades.
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“Growing up in St. Louis, the only consistent kosher option was Kohn’s, but we never understood why St. Louis could not have its own pizza shop,” he said. “We have hundreds, if not thousands, of Jewish people who appreciate kosher food even if they don’t strictly eat kosher.”
After the closure of Kohn’s Kosher Deli and other short-lived efforts, the gap became more urgent. The family’s search accelerated in early 2025, when they found a location at the corner of Greentrails and Ladue roads in Chesterfield, which inspired the café’s name. They signed a lease later that year and opened their doors in September.
The urgency the family felt was not just personal. It was rooted in a longer local history.
For much of the 20th century, kosher dining in St. Louis was not scarce. Jewish Light archives show that from the 1950s through the early 1980s, the region supported dozens of kosher restaurants, delis and markets, before a slow decline took hold beginning in the mid-1980s as longtime establishments closed and few new ones replaced them.
That history is not lost on the Winter family.
“We also want to express a note of gratitude to all the past and present businesses and restaurants who have invested years and money towards St. Louis kosher food,” Winter said. “Starting and maintaining a food business is extremely difficult, and we appreciate all the hard work that came before us.”
Building it carefully
Opening Corner Café required more than goodwill.
“Everything inside the café was newly built, and it took a lot longer and a lot more money than we had originally anticipated,” Winter said. “But it was well worth the effort.”
Corner Café is open seven days a week, including Friday afternoons before Shabbat and Saturday nights after Shabbat until 11 p.m. During the week, it stays open from 11 a.m. through 8:30 p.m., even when foot traffic is slow. Delivery is available through DoorDash.
“There is no question that serving the community is at the forefront of our minds,” Winter said. “Even when business is slower during early or late hours, we want to make sure people have kosher options whenever they need them.”
More than one menu
The café’s concept reflects that service-first mindset. Sushi, pizza and ice cream may sound unconventional, but Winter said it works because families and groups can mix and match.
“Many of our customers will order a pie of pizza, a few rolls of sushi and ice cream for dessert,” he said. “There really is something for everyone.”
The sushi program ranges from basic rolls to sashimi and nigiri, along with cooked fish and vegetable options for customers who want the experience without raw fish. Pizza dough and sauce are made fresh, toppings are prepared daily and a stone pizza oven anchors the kitchen.
“And don’t forget the soups,” Winter added. “They are a big hit.”
Who it serves
Asked who the café was built to serve, Winter did not hesitate.
“All of the above,” he said. “Families, JSU, business meetings, lone travelers, bar mitzvahs. But we are not just open for kosher eaters.”
Located in the heart of the Greentrails neighborhood in Chesterfield , Corner Café draws students stopping in after school, nearby business customers and visitors from out of town who now have a reliable kosher option when they are in St. Louis for work or family.
“It’s still early, but we are very pleased with the community turnout and show of support,” Winter said. “Our food is getting high reviews, and we think they actually mean it.”
What success means
Unlike many restaurant ventures, Corner Café was never intended to become the owners’ primary livelihood.
“This is not our primary form of income, so as long as we can continue serving delicious kosher food to anyone who wants it, that is success,” Winter said. “We started the café to serve the community, and we mean it.”
For a city that once sustained dozens of kosher establishments and then watched them slowly disappear, the café’s success carries a weight that goes beyond what’s on the menu.
