Dutchtown Main Streets, in partnership with the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC), is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 Façade Grant Program awards! Dutchtown Main Streets and SLDC will award a total of $81,000 in grants to 14 neighborhood businesses to support exterior improvements that enhance the appearance, safety, and vibrancy of Dutchtown’s commercial corridors. The projects will get underway in 2026.
The Façade Grant Program is part of Dutchtown Main Streets’ Economic Vitality committee work, supporting small businesses and commercial development in ways that are inclusive, equitable, and community-driven. The initiative is modeled on the Main Street America Four Point Approach, a nationally recognized framework for neighborhood revitalization that focuses on Design, Economic Vitality, Organization, and Promotion.
The 2025 grant cycle included a mix of awards in $1,000, $4,000, and $8,000 tiers. Applicants on our commercial corridors, including Grand Boulevard, Virginia Avenue, and Meramec and Chippewa Streets, were prioritized, along with funding set aside for open-location grants throughout Greater Dutchtown, including Gravois Park, Marine Villa, and Mount Pleasant. Read more about the available façade grants and the application process in our earlier post.
A panel of Dutchtown neighbors and volunteers from Dutchtown Main Streets, including members of the Economic Vitality Committee and a community member at large, reviewed all applications. The panel utilized a structured scoring rubric to evaluate brick-and-mortar presence in the neighborhood, financial need, alignment with the Main Street mission, visual impact, and artistic or cultural contribution. Projects that enhance the expression of Dutchtown’s neighborhood identity through visible, community-oriented design received additional points.
These projects illustrate the impact of small, community-rooted investments. They represent pride, opportunity, and the collective vision of neighbors working together to uplift our streetscape and economy. We’re excited to see these sparkling storefronts shine their brightest for Dutchtown!
And the 2025 Dutchtown Façade Grant Winners Are…
A & Q Custom Wheels & Tires
4036 South Grand Boulevard: For the past 13 years, A & Q Custom Wheels & Tires has specialized in automotive repair and sales for the community. A & Q will enhance its façade by repainting the building and improving the front-facing landscaping to make the establishment more inviting and to showcase pride of ownership in the neighborhood.
Brighter Futures Daycare
4657 Virginia Avenue: A longtime neighborhood childcare center, Brighter Futures Daycare will replace a damaged awning with a new illuminated sign, improving safety and curb appeal for families and early learners. Brighter Futures prides itself on its service to the community and looks forward to implementing façade improvements to beautify Dutchtown and foster an inviting atmosphere and learning space that attracts new families.
Flowers to the People
3463 Itaska Street: Flowers to the People takes pride in bringing color and joy to the neighborhood at their Dutchtown floral shop. The business will update existing windows to improve energy efficiency and make the establishment more welcoming to passersby, and will repair and repaint damaged concrete, a front-facing cornice, and wood trim on the building’s exterior. Additionally, Flowers to the People will hire a local artist to paint the side of the building to make the establishment more inviting, continue the existing theme of the business’s front façade, and support local artistry in Dutchtown.
Gurung Bazar
4500 South Grand Boulevard: A family-owned grocery store and retail shop serving Dutchtown’s international residents, Gurung Bazaar prides itself on offering a huge variety of food options to our diverse community of immigrants and neighbors seeking new flavors. Gurung Bazaar is operated by longtime neighborhood residents who plan to use façade grant funding to update the storefront to better serve the community and reflect Dutchtown’s diversity.
The Haunt
5000 Alaska Avenue: Priding itself on being a community hub where patrons can relax and unwind, The Haunt remains committed to community, welcoming a full spectrum of Dutchtown neighbors to enjoy spirits of all sorts together. The year-round Halloween-themed bar will upgrade its façade with fresh paint, repaired windows, and added lighting, handrails, and a bike rack to boost both safety and style.
Iowa Buffet
2727 Winnebago Street: A family-operated watering hole for generations, Iowa Buffet has been a staple in Greater Dutchtown since the 1940s, with a commercial history dating back to the 1880s. This historic drinking establishment will restore its original porcelain and neon “V-9” Budweiser signage, preserving the mid-century commercial character of Dutchtown. The business will also make important façade improvements, including building repairs and lighting upgrades.
Knowledge is Best LLC
4219 Virginia Avenue: Located in Downtown Dutchtown at the intersection of Virginia Avenue and Meramec Street, Knowledge is Best LLC aims to continue the tradition of a long line of commercial establishments in the community, branding itself as a legacy Dutchtown enterprise. The business will contract an artist to paint the large street-facing picture window as a canvas that brands the building as a Dutchtown enterprise. Currently, the location houses the shared office spaces of Knowledge is Best LLC and Dutchtown Main Streets.
Read A Book STL
3125 Meramec Street: Read A Book STL takes its mission to salvage books and keep knowledge accessible and affordable very seriously. Dutchtown’s community-focused bookstore will install a shaded awning to create a welcoming space for neighbors to pause, read, and connect, aligning with its mission to promote literacy, learning, and access to books for all.
Sawhorse Recording Studios
5205-09 Virginia Avenue: A unique recording studio that has attracted musicians to Dutchtown from across the United States, Sawhorse Recording Studios has held a presence in the community for more than two decades. The business will repair exterior wood trim and the front-facing awning, repaint the storefront, and install additional exterior lighting and security measures to improve the safety of patrons and nearby community members.
Sign of the Times Tattoo
4722 Virginia Avenue: Established in 2021, Sign of the Times Tattoo prides itself on being a hallmark of new growth in historic Dutchtown as the community’s premier tattoo parlor. The tattoo studio will use façade grant funding to install new custom signage and other enhancements to reflect its creative brand and attract more visitors to the Virginia Avenue corridor.
South Broadway Art Project
3816 South Broadway: South Broadway Art Project prides itself on being a space “where clay meets community,” offering affordable and free art education for children and adults. To further its mission of teaching the community to enhance life through art, this creative hub will use façade funding to repair storm-damaged brickwork, install a new sign, and repaint fencing at its community-centered arts space.
Wagons and Wheels Preschool
4445 Virginia Avenue: Wagons and Wheels Preschool has operated in Dutchtown for a number of years, hiring locally and offering community-centered services that reflect the needs and values of local families. Wagons and Wheels will use the façade grant to repaint the storefront, install new signage bearing the business name, add exterior lighting to improve visibility and safety, replace outdated windows, and repair damaged brickwork.
Wildfruit Projects
4704 Virginia Avenue: Wildfruit Projects is a community-centered art space that devises creative ways to improve art accessibility in Dutchtown. The gallery will utilize the façade grant funding to transform the front-facing driveway into a community space with permeable pavers, replace deteriorated front and back gates with more welcoming and secure designs, install improved exterior lighting to enhance safety and visibility, add new landscaping to make the exterior more inviting, and install new hardware on the entryway doors.
Winkelmann Drug
3300 Meramec Street: A historic staple in the community for well over a century, Winkelmann Drug will replace the store’s front-facing glass, install high-grade security film across all window units, digitally print and install custom window graphics on the windows facing Virginia Avenue, and install exterior egress vinyl paneling for advertising. The business looks forward to the improvements as part of its mission to enhance safety and accessibility while strengthening Dutchtown’s commercial corridor, preserving the area’s history in concert with surrounding buildings.
Funding for this initiative comes from SLDC’s Economic Justice Action Plan, focused on neighborhood-based growth and inclusive support for small businesses in St. Louis.
