Human Flower Project
Root, Flower, for the Cardinals
Few businesses offer the amenity of fresh flowers. One St. Louis restaurant owner holds firm, and buys the blossoms every week himself.
Always packed, and ever with fresh flowers, Charlie Gitto’s is a downtown institution in St. Louis, Missouri
Photo: Human Flower Project
Following flowers this year has led us to follow baseball – thanks to Charlie Gitto, we have a team.
Charlie operates two well known Italian restaurants in St. Louis and for the past thirty years has bought the establishments’ fresh flowers himself. We wound up at his downtown spot thanks to the recommendation of a friendly custodian at Busch Stadium. There actually aren’t too many restaurants open in this part of the inner city at night, so we were thrilled to find Charlie Gitto’s on North 6th Street, a healthy but easy walk from our hotel.
There was a short wait, but we settled into the pretty old foyer – tile floor and lots of polished wood. There was a big vase of gladiolas on the counter just inside the door and, of course, the game was on TV. We looked up at scores of framed photographs of baseball heroes, musicians, pols, and the Budweiser clydesdales, all posing with the same mustachioed gentleman – the fellow who happened to be sitting at the end of the bar watching the game.
“I buy go to the flower market every week,” Charlie told us proudly. There he picks up enough stems for the tables and a big bouquet up front, plus “two dozen white roses for my daughter.” (St. Louis still has a busy downtown flower market on the 2700 block of La Salle Street. You can watch a youtube about the market here.)
Charlie Gitto with red and white glalds he selected himself to decorate the restaurant. St. Louis has a thing about red and white – a BIG thing.
Photo: Bill Bishop
Charlie Gitto’s is a hometown delight, three decades in the business of serving cannelloni and meat balls. The waitresses are “seasoned,” and the clientele is a comfy mix of families, business types, romantic couples, and travelers, like us. With alstromeria on all the tables, that lovely floral workhorse of the restaurant world, you’d never mistake this for a “sports bar” or Hooter’s. And at nine of a Saturday night, Charlie’s still here, presiding quietly and very, very glad somebody’s admired his flowers.
We’re confident that tonight the flowers on the counter are likewise red and white: Charlie’s favorites, and team colors for the Cardinals. Getting a table will be impossible.
St. Louis is behind 0-2 in the National League Division Series, but, ah, tonight is different. The Cardinals play the Los Angeles Dodgers at home, 5 pm CST (that’s now!). Busch Stadium is sold out and a few blocks away Charlie Gitto’s is, no doubt, fully floral and on fire with fans!
Late note: Ouch! The Dodgers swept our team, 3-0, in the division series, winning tonight in St. Louis 5-1. Bummer for the crowd down on N. 6th street.