I managed to get my run in this afternoon despite the scorching temps! I took the long way to Regan’s school, pushing an empty jogging stroller (boy did I get some looks 
) and made the first part of my run an even 2 miles. Not sure of my time, but it was long and it was sweaty.
I took solace in the school’s air conditioning while I chatted with Regan’s teachers. She was having fun during “clean up time” (totally wish I could get her that happy about it at home) and I didn’t mind waiting an extra few minutes while the streams of salty sweat slowly evaporated off my beet red face.
Once she was ready to go she piled into her stroller, threw on her “riding hat” and leaned back with a sippy cup full of ice cold water. That girl loves a jog in the stroller. I did sprints all the way home and Regan was my coach. If she said run – I ran! If she said walk – I walked! I must admit that she did a pretty good job…a future coach maybe?! 
Once we made it home Jason wasn’t far behind and he was hungry, but I had to pick up Linsey and two of her friends from dance PLUS he had a meeting at 7:30. So Regan and I hopped in the jeep to get the older girls while Jason stayed behind and fixed some dinner to be waiting when we got back. Awwwww…isn’t that a great husband!?
Here’s what I had…
Half of a baked potato topped with steamed broccoli and shredded cheddar cheese. Holy yum! This is one of my favorite go to meals – no question!
After dinner the girls and I each finished the other halves of our vegan treats from last night’s trip to Whole Foods.
A Community Cafe
Most people who don’t live in St Louis are used to eating at Panera, but if you’re a native of The Lou than you normally eat at St Louis Bread Co. Let me explain the difference…the difference is simply the name. St Louis Bread Co started here in St Louis and as they got bigger they decided to expand beyond St Louis, but didn’t think the name St Louis Bread Co would go over that well in places like…ummm…Chicago (kind of a HUGE baseball rival) or any other city in the country. So with the expansion came the name change (except in St Louis) to Panera.
If you read RFM very often than you know that my family and I make almost weekly trips to the St Louis Bread Co on the Loop for Saturday morning breakfast with friends. We even took our girl scout troop there for a VIP tour!
So when I heard that St Louis Bread Co was turning one of their locations into a community cafe my interest was peaked. The whole family took a trip there one day after picking up the girls only to realize that they closed at 4pm. 
So yesterday, with the AC out in the deli, Linsey and I took advantage of the situation and headed into Clayton for lunch.
What’s a community cafe – you might be asking? I wasn’t quite sure, but when we walked in the door the whole idea was explained in detail. Basically the cliffs notes version of the cafe goes like this…You go in for lunch. You order. A”suggested” total is given to you. If you want to simply pay that total you can. If you can’t afford the total you can leave what you can afford. If you wish to leave more to help cover the cost of the “reduced rate” lunches you can. No one is EVER turned away for a meal. The bakery is cheaper than in a “regular” St Louis Bread Co because everything is baked fresh yesterday at other locations and shipped over in the morning. Pretty awesome idea right!?
Linsey and I placed our order and received our “suggested” retail price…
Now money is tight in my house, but I definitely did not need a discount. I did want to show Linsey that it is always appropriate to help those in need (who knows when we could be one) so we dropped $20.00 into the box at our register. Then we sat down and waited for our food just like at any other location.
While we enjoyed our lunch we began to realize something…the place was getting full and then we noticed…the place is PACKED!!
When I looked at the door I was SHOCKED (ever heard the expression “the line was out the door”?)…
The line literally stretched from the registers, through the restaurant and out the door onto the sidewalk! I was amazed. I couldn’t believe it. It was pretty incredible to see actually. The greeters (managers maybe?) took the time to speak to every person who walked through the door to make sure they understood what the phrase “community cafe” meant and EVERYONE was more than happy to oblige.
Linsey and I did see a few people who appeared (not to judge a book by its cover) to be “a person in need” sitting right next to a man in a business suit carrying a briefcase. It was very heart warming.
If you live in St Louis or will be in the area I highly recommend getting lunch here one day. They are open Monday – Sunday until 4pm. The address is 10 S. Central Ave. Clayton, MO 63105. You can read the USAToday article about the cafe by clicking here.
The purpose of life is not to be happy – but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all. ~ Leo Rosten
