As we commemorate the closing of Tony’s yesterday, one of the most famous fine dining establishments in the history of St. Louis, I thought it would be fun to look back at their original location at 826 N. Broadway, in the heart of what was known as Commission Row. Today, the vendors who once crowded that section of street have since moved to Produce Row further north up the Riverfront. Tony’s opened in 1946 in that bustling stretch of downtown, and stayed there until they moved to their second location on Market Street in the early 1990s. This Feast magazine article tells the history of the famed restaurant. The building in which Tony’s was housed has a fascinating history, possibly originally appearing in Compton and Dry’s Pictorial St. Louis in 1876.

The building, or at least the one replaced by the one that would eventually house Tony’s is just to the right of the building labeled 31.

The building housing Tony’s is located just above the orange colored building. Look at how crowded that neighborhood was! Now it’s just a plaza and Interstate 44’s elevated lanes.

Tony’s is on the right in the far distance in the photo above.

This photo above gives an impression of the density of the block on which Tony’s sat, just to the left of these buildings at 826 N. Broadway.

Note the other Italian American business name above just south of Tony’s in the same year the restaurant opened.

Just a decade after it opened, Tony’s was already acquiring a gallery of famous diners on its walls, as you can see in this photograph from 1956.

The maitre d’ also never turned his back to diners. Look at the red and white checked tableclothes.

Tony’s famously operated a “quiet kitchen,” meaning that no loud banging of pots and pans were allowed, as well as yelling. Eventually, chefs would be equipped with headsets that allowed them to speak with waiters and talking was never allowed above a quiet tone of voice.