The demolition of Chesterfield Mall has officially begun. On Tuesday, crews started by tearing down the front awning at the main entrance, near the now-closed Cheesecake Factory. Some in the St. Louis media have called the teardown of the old mall “the end of an era.” But as I watched video of Chesterfield Mayor Bob Nation declare, “Mr. Staenberg, tear down this mall,” I couldn’t help but think that, for me, the Chesterfield Mall era had ended long ago.
The redevelopment project will transform the site into a multi-use property featuring nearly 2,400 apartments, offices, restaurants, retail, and a grocery store, all centered around a public park with a bike path and pedestrian trail.
This transformation is part of The Staenberg Group’s larger plan to create “Downtown Chesterfield.” The “Mr. Staenberg” Mayor Nation referred to is Michael Staenberg, president of The Staenberg Group and president of the Board of Trustees of the St. Louis Jewish Light.
Staenberg has high hopes for the project, noting that it will be a unique destination. “It will bring St. Charles and St. Louis counties together in an area where people will have dining, entertainment, sports, and trails,” he said. “There’s nowhere else in the area like this.”
“So, while I’m all in on positive development for our area, I couldn’t help but reflect on the last time I dropped a quarter into a game of Missile Command — at Chesterfield Mall.”
For many in the St. Louis Jewish community, Chesterfield Mall in the mid-1980s was more than just a shopping center—it was a social hub, a rite of passage and our version of the California mall culture captured in movies like “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”
For many Jewish kids, BBYO meetings at the JCC on Tuesday nights offered a rare chance to connect outside of Sunday school. Those connections often carried over into weekends, especially Saturdays at Chesterfield Mall, where kids from Ladue, Parkway, and other districts would meet up with their BBYO friends. It turned those weekends into a social scene that felt almost like a “kvell.”
My generation: a new hangout culture
In the early 1980s, my generation of middle and high school kids gravitated toward the malls. Which one you went to depended on where you lived, whether you had friends over 16 with a car, if your parents would let you take the bus, or how far they were willing to drive. Back then, Northwest Plaza, West County Mall, Crestwood Mall, and Chesterfield Mall were all thriving. But if you were a central corridor kid, Chesterfield Mall was the place to be.
When we entered the mall, we didn’t just walk around—we cruised. We hung out with friends, held hands with crushes and rode the escalators like they were amusement park rides. The skylight-lit seating areas and fountains gave the mall a modern, open feel, almost like a giant “student lounge” where we could all gather.
But it was the stores and hangouts that made the memories. This was the golden era of video games, and Chesterfield Mall boasted not one but two arcades: Aladdin’s Castle and Fun and Games. You’d find your game, place your quarter on top of the machine to claim “next” and live the life.
Stores and food court memories
After burning through our pockets full of quarters, there was plenty more to do. We’d browse the cassettes at Camelot Records, check out posters and lava lamps at Spencer’s, grab a burger at Burger Chef or indulge in beer cheese soup from Kent’s Deli. Sampling the sausage at Hickory Farms was another regular stop.
And, of course, there was shopping. While I may just wear brewery T-shirts and jeans now, back then I was all about ’80s fashion. Chesterfield Mall had the style spots—The Oak Tree, Merry-Go-Round and Chess King—where we bought leather ties, pleated pants, sport coats with padded shoulders and anything else we saw on MTV that week.
No trip was complete without a stop at Orange Julius, the place where everyone seemed to congregate. Whether you wanted a brain freeze or just wanted to be seen, Orange Julius was where you went. Even now, anytime Chesterfield Mall comes up, someone is bound to mention it.
Readers share their mall memories
To make sure I wasn’t alone in my nostalgia, I asked Jewish Light readers to share their thoughts and memories about growing up at Chesterfield Mall. The responses came flooding in:
Food and drink memories
- Nancy Balin Burstein: “Mr. Dunderbach’s, in addition to giving out sausage samples, had the BEST beer cheese soup in the city!”
- Amy Levine Cooper: “It was definitely Orange Julius. After orthodontist appointments across the parking lot, Dad would take me there for breakfast.”
- Iliana Vayman: “Houlihan’s was on the second floor across from Walgreens, and Pasta House was on the first floor across from the pet store. My favorite was watching the ferrets and puppies in the pet store windows.”
- Shawn Rimerman: “Can’t forget about York Steak House. Never got the steak, but the sweet glazed roast chicken they cut in half with shears was always good.”
- Ericka Goldman Zoll-Phelan: “Orange Julius was upstairs by the entrance across from Burger Chef. I think I spent every weekend there throughout junior high and high school, and I worked at Camelot Music during my senior year.”
- Lisa Goldman Kodner: “Orange Julius was real, as was the Burger Chef toppings bar across the mall hallway. Both were delicious! Merry-Go-Round was THE place to buy trashy clothes, and Spencer’s was the best naughty fun a teen could hope for.”
- Rick Green: “Mr. Dunderbach’s was the place that gave out the sausage samples. It was a German deli upstairs, across from Orange Julius.”
- Stacey Turner Acree: “Kent’s Deli had the best beer cheese soup! Orange Julius had those frothy, delicious drinks! So many memories!”
- Karen Palmer Bland: “And the Great American Cookie place, and the custom T-shirt shop where we got the ‘tin grins are in’ decal on the shirt.”
- Shannon Weintrop Rohlman: “So many memories from my teens, including getting fancy cappuccino at Gloria Jean’s, buying candy and troll dolls at the candy store.”
Shopping and stores
- Ericka Goldman Zoll-Phelan: “I worked at Camelot Music during my senior year, and summer in between freshman and sophomore year.”
- Cindy Weinman Breece: “Hickory Farms was the sausage place. There was Record Bar in addition to Camelot, and the arcade was called Fun and Games!”
- Jill Laux: “Yes, it was Camelot. Yes, Orange Julius was real and the best. Pass Pets was downstairs by Camelot. Zarfas Luggage was real close by in case you needed some nice leather.”
- Rick Green: “Mr. Dunderbach’s was upstairs, across from Orange Julius.”
- J.D. Glickman: “How about Chess King? Remember that? Oak Tree was the best!”
- Kelly McMahon: “Orange Julius was definitely there! Also a decorated cookie place on the first floor.”
- Lauren Glickman Rosen: “Wait, was Magic Pan there or am I getting my malls confused? But this is fabulous!”
- Stacy Winternitz: “Oh how fun! Oak Tree
. My hot spot was 5,7,9. Yep those were sizes that don’t even exist today.
I plead the 5th on some of my other memories Wendy Stelly and Kate Schinzing Brushaber
Arcade memories
- Kalanit Chappell: “In the early, early days, there was a Waggs. Across from Waggs was Fun and Games, the arcade.”
- Barry Brimer: “There were two arcades. One directly across from Walgreens near Sears on the top floor, and there was another on the bottom floor at the other end of the mall near Dillard’s.”
- Dana Amitin Cohen: “Aladdin’s Castle!”
Miscellaneous memories
- Kristin Runyan: “Stacey Turner Acree, Lynn Esserman Duffy and I used to take the bus to Chesterfield Mall when we were in middle school. We were so hip and cool!!
- Stacey Turner Acree: “Kristin Runyan – a straight shot down Olive!
Best memories roaming that mall!
- Stacey Turner Acree: “Kristin Runyan – a straight shot down Olive!
- Max Maier: “I survived two tornadoes in that mall. I can trace most of my life back to that mall—the trips to Toll House, the amount of money spent at Dillard’s and Hot Topic, and meeting my friends at Borders and later on Vintage Stock.”
- Michael Sznurman: “My first real job was at the detached theater with four screens. I was 15, an usher, and worked concession. I never got the big promotion to box office.”
- Ed Sandheinrich: “I remember trying to do the Back to the Future skateboard towing in the parking lot at like 1 a.m. on a Saturday.”
- Sheri Schneiderman: “I just loved walking around the mall with friends.”
The memories shared by so many reflect just how much Chesterfield Mall was part of our community’s fabric. Whether you were grabbing an Orange Julius or hanging out at the arcade, the mall served as a backdrop for countless shared experiences that are still cherished today.
RIP Chesterfield Mall.
