SOUTH GRAND RESTAURATEURS LOOK TOWARD THE FUTURE

WRITTEN BY SHANNON WEBER | PHOTOS BY JENNIFER SILVERBERG

In the tight-knit community of South Grand’s business district, two legends in the restaurant industry are building from their past to forge a path forward, albeit in different ways.One is solidly grounded in the foundation his parents built and carefully expands and evolves their collection of establishments. The other is honoring her past by taking what she’s learned and creating something completely new to the St. Louis culinary landscape.

Cafe Natasha was born from necessity; a recession and a layoff led a husband and wife with a young daughter to open a café, despite having no prior restaurant experience. Their venture began in 1983 as a downtown St. Louis cafeteria and eventually became a Persian restaurant called “Kabob International” in the Delmar Loop a decade later. By 2001, Behshid and Hamishe Bahrami landed in their forever home of South Grand with Cafe Natasha, named for their only child and perhaps the catalyst for the entire endeavor. Natasha Bahrami recently transformed her parents’ legendary restaurant into something wholly her own, and to much acclaim: Her restaurant Salve Osteria has garnered multiple accolades since opening in 2022, and The Gin Room, adjacent to Salve, was named a semifinalist for a