Garden Café to close at the end of the month

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the café has only been in operation for eight years. The Schoenbergers took over operations of the Garden Café eight years ago from the shop’s previous owners.

A creaky front door opens to an artist sketching in the corner, a student working on a paper at a table and two old friends catching up for the first time in years. The live musician plays on stage, the notes wafting through the lofted ceiling and the faint hum of the espresso machine plays in the background. It smells like cinnamon, coffee and home.

Webster Groves Garden Café, a beloved hangout spot for many Webster University students and local residents, will close at the end of September.

The quaint coffee shop, located just off East Lockwood Avenue, has been owned and operated by Gary and Mandy Schoenberger for eight years. The couple announced the closure on Facebook and received an overwhelming emotional response from the community. The Schoenbergers lease the building from property owner Jim Onder and said they don’t have the funds to purchase it.

Gary Schoenberger said the closing is bittersweet for the couple. While sad to see their business close, they are ready for a much needed break.

“Mandy and I will have to spend more time together, we have a little bit of travel planned,” Schoenberger said. “We’re both musicians, and this [the café] has kind of taken away from our exploring of our personal musical activities.”

He explained the people of the community made each day worthwhile.

“They’ve been the best part of the whole adventure, it’s the relationships that have meant the most to us,” Schoenberger said. “They’re the thing that’s kept us going through slow periods, they’re what have really been the most important and rewarding piece of the whole experience for us.”

One of those dedicated customers is Webster Groves resident Patrick Murphy. He and his wife, Anne, visit the café up to five times a week and were devastated when they heard the news.

“It’s such a loss,” Murphy said. “I’ve always said that it’s the heart and soul of Webster Groves and that’s not something you can just replicate anywhere else.”

One thing Murphy enjoyed was conversing with the employees at the café. He said they were always kind and lovely to talk to. One of those workers, Chloe Wasielewski, is a Webster art student.

Wasielewski started working at Garden Café in August and has loved every minute. Before The Journal spoke with Murphy, Wasielewski had mentioned a particular couple she enjoyed seeing each time she worked.

“Patrick and Anne are a couple in the Webster area, Anne is a photographer and Patrick is a printmaker, which are both things that I do,” Wasielewski said. “They would come in and ask about what I was working on and chat with me for hours. The first time they came in after they found out we were closing they were heartbroken.”

Wasielewski says she interacts with a Webster student each time she works and the job has allowed her to meet students of all majors.

“I’ve met people who go to Webster that I would never meet like I’ve met otherwise.” Wasielewski said. “I never leave the art building, but I’ve met people across all majors, like in film or psychology.”

The café serves drinks and an assortment of food items, but what really sets it apart is its focus on live music. Every Thursday night, the café hosts an open mic night in their backyard amphitheater-style space.

“A lot of the musicians that we’ve had, the younger musicians, have come through the university, and that’s always been a lot of fun to see what they bring to the stage and sharing their time and talents with us,” Schoenberger said.

To commemorate its years of service, the café is holding a “Farewell Concert” on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. featuring Schoenberger’s band, the Perfect Strangers, at the café’s outdoor area.