Tag: Downtown in United States

Sara’s Ice Cream is the place that you expect to find in Sainte Geneviève, which makes it all the more satisfying when you do.  It’s what makes you feel like you’ve arrived at a destination—that’s how important it is to the DNA of what we’re trying to build here.  Sara’s has been a fixture here since 1981 and it’s now under new ownership that has breathed even more life into the town’s favorite stop for locals and visitors alike. Set in the town’s de-facto center right across from Audubon’s Hotel and Restaurant, Sara’s will take you back to the good times when coffee was 10 cents —it still is at Sara’s — where malts needed heavy equipment — they still do at Sara’s —and you could get house-made sodas called phosphates — guess what?  You can get them at Sara’s. It’s the perfect spot to take a break while exploring Main Street—close to local shops, restaurants, and historic sites. Whether you’re after a quick cone or a hand-dipped shake, Sara’s Ice Cream delivers a sweet taste of Sainte Geneviève. Read more…

I’ll create an expanded description for Sassafras Creek Cabin in the same style as the other tourism articles: Sassafras Creek Cabin – Where 1840s Authenticity Meets Modern Comfort in a Restoration Road Star Cabin Within Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park Most historic lodging involves staying in renovated buildings where modern amenities awkwardly coexist with period architecture—exposed beams above recessed lighting, original fireplaces beside flat-screen TVs, antique exteriors wrapped around thoroughly contemporary interiors. Sassafras Creek Cabin takes different approach: this circa 1840 log cabin, relocated to its current St. Marys Road property in June 2020 and featured in Season 1, Episode 3 of Restoration Road (streaming on Max), offers genuinely immersive historical experience where furniture, decor, and atmosphere authentically match the cabin’s time period. You’re not sleeping in building that merely looks old from outside while functioning like standard rental inside. You’re inhabiting space that feels genuinely transported from the 1840s—stepping back in time to experience what frontier cabin living actually meant, albeit with crucial modern comforts (climate control, proper plumbing, reliable electricity) that make the experience enjoyable rather than merely authentic. The location enhances the historical immersion: Sassafras Creek Cabin sits between two houses in the newly formed Ste. Genevieve Read more…

Sassafras Creek Originals – Where Early American Life Directory Craftsmen Create Heirloom Quality in an 1850 General Store At 311 St. Marys Road in the heart of Sainte Geneviève’s historic district, Sassafras Creek Originals occupies the circa 1850 Brooks House—a two-story brick building transformed into colonial-era general store where owner Kandye Mahurin (selected for Early American Life Magazine’s Directory of Traditional American Craftsmen eight consecutive years) and fellow Directory-juried artisans showcase hand-crafted Colonial/Primitive Early American folk art that meets museum-curator standards for authenticity, scholarship, and period-appropriate materials and techniques. This isn’t a shop selling colonial-style imports from overseas factories—Sassafras Creek’s rigorous quality standard requires that at least 75% of merchandise is American-made, with vendors carefully selected from the prestigious Early American Life Directory, ensuring every game board, bandbox, redware plate, woven coverlet, piece of tinware, and folk art creation represents genuine traditional craftsmanship using period materials, tools, and techniques that curators at Colonial Williamsburg, living history museums, and motion picture producers rely on for authentic period pieces. Step inside rooms arranged like an old-time general store and discover heirloom-quality handcrafts preserving American artisan traditions rapidly disappearing in the digital age. The Early American Life Directory: Museum-Quality Standard Sassafras Creek Originals’ Read more…

Sirros – Nearly Three Decades of Familiar Faces, Good Service, and Homemade Onion Rings in Downtown Ste. Genevieve At 261 Merchant Street in the heart of historic downtown Ste. Genevieve, Sirros delivers what a family restaurant should: consistently good food, friendly service, comfortable atmosphere, and the sense that you’re eating somewhere deeply embedded in the community. Since opening in 1989, this casual ninety-seat restaurant has built devoted following among locals and wine country tourists by specializing in what they call “samiches” (yes, deliberately spelled that way), hand-tossed pizzas, hearty pasta dishes, and those legendary homemade made-to-order onion rings that customers describe as “munching crunchy mouthfuls of heaven.” Open daily (Monday-Thursday 11 AM-8 PM, Friday-Saturday 11 AM-9 PM, Sunday 11 AM-8 PM) with dine-in and carryout options, Sirros occupies a building with remarkable history—the 1930s soda fountain here once served as the lone bus stop between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau. Now, under longtime manager Lauren Smothers’ leadership, Sirros continues three-decade tradition of making visitors “feel at home, feel comfortable, and leave with a smile on your face.” The Name: Orris Spelled Backward (Plus an “S”) Sirros “began life backward”—literally. The restaurant’s unusual name comes from spelling “Orris” backward with an Read more…

Ste. Genevieve Antique Mall – Where a 1920s Factory Became Treasure Hunter’s Paradise At 500 Market Street, a massive 1920s factory building that once hummed with industrial production now houses something entirely different: Missouri’s most consistently open antique mall in a town famous for mom-and-pop shops that keep their own hours. The Ste. Genevieve Antique Mall represents the vision and determination of Patrick Fahey and Dr. Susan O’Donnell, who saw opportunity in disaster and transformed an aging industrial space into a seven-day-a-week destination that’s become as essential to Sainte Geneviève’s tourism economy as the historic houses that draw visitors here in the first place. Born from Disaster, Built with Vision The story begins with a tornado. When severe weather destroyed Ste. Genevieve County’s only antique mall in nearby St. Mary, it created both crisis and opportunity. Patrick and Susan—already invested in Sainte Geneviève through the Main Street Inn Bed & Breakfast—recognized that the county needed an antique mall, and that downtown Sainte Geneviève, with its steady stream of history tourists and weekend visitors, represented ideal location. But they didn’t just want any antique mall. They wanted something substantial, something that could house dozens of dealers, provide year-round climate-controlled shopping, and Read more…