Resume Clinic/Free Beer open to all

So we have gotten a lot of response about the resume clinic scheduled
for Monday afternoon, December 29th from noon-4pm. The resume clinic
is open to all, those laid off from AB/InBev, out of work from
anywhere and even those who are still working. It is always good to
have your resume on the ready in case of the unexpected. There is no
shame in working on your resume, especially over a complimentary
Missouri brewed beer. What could be more American?

On Monday, I will be at the bar- and you will need to see me about the
ticket needed for your complimentary Missouri beer. You may be
required to do a few exercises, but nothing too complex. You will be
given cocktail napkins and a pen. Be prepared to write and discuss
the future of our city as the premier Brewery City of the world.
Imagine breweries at Kingshighway and Chippewa, Cherokee and Iowa,
Natural Bridge and Grand. People will come from all over the world to
see and taste what all of Saint Louis Breweries have to offer. This
is not a strange idea, this is who we are.

Now I will be celebrating my birthday on Monday during the day, so I
would love to have you come down and help me celebrate by sipping upon
some Missouri beer.

Peace and prosperity,

--
Steven Fitzpatrick Smith
Tavernkeeper
The Royale Food & Spirits
3132 South Kingshighway
STL in the MO 63139

314-772-3600

www.theroyale.com
www.stlstreets.com

Pints & Resume Clinic for laid off AB Workers

Here at the Royale we understand the tough times that face the city of Saint Louis. We have been subjected to massive layoffs all over Saint Louis, and one great Saint Louis institution in particular, Anheuser-Busch/InBev, has been laying off record numbers of hardworking Americans. Next Monday, the 29th of December for our afternoon drink, the Royale will be offering relief of FREE PINTS OF MISSOURI BREWED BEER to all laid off and current workers of Anheuser-Busch at the bar until 4pm. The Royale will provide further relief to all Saint Louisans with half price soup at the bar for all interested in our dignified afternoon drink discussion.

What some people see as doom and gloom for Saint Louis, here at the Royale we see as a rare opportunity. Our German forefathers came to Saint Louis to create the world's finest brewery city with scores of neighborhood breweries that watered the natives and exported the world's superior beers.

12/29 Afternoon drink discussion topic: Bringing back Saint Louis to our true roots, ensuring the opportunity is ripe for hardworking and talented Saint Louisans who once again can create independently owned neighborhood breweries.

The Royale will also offer further aid to the recently laid off Saint Louisans desiring to re-enter the workforce. Come to the Royale on Monday afternoon, December 29 for a free resume writing clinic with Allison Trombley, who has helped over 200 people to build better resumes. If you currently have a resume, bring it along; if you don't, come with information about your previous employment. Clinic will contain general information as well as one-on-one advice, time permitting. Start the new year with new prospects, and work on it all while drinking a beer and slurping some soup.

Peace and prosperity,

Steven Fitzpatrick Smith
Tavernkeeper
The Royale Food & Spirits
3132 South Kingshighway
STL, MO 63139
314-772-3600

www.theroyale.com
www.stlstreets.com

Hobo Chic, A Brown Tie Affair New Year's Eve

Times are tough. We need to reassess where we are in life, in the world. Regardless of the outside forces that may try to keep us down, we must move ahead and keep our heads up. We still must celebrate our lives in this fine American city of Saint Louis. But we need to adapt.

And we can adapt to these times with our Hobo Chic New Year's party, a Brown Tie Affair. Bring your best mended formal clothes and prepare for an evening of New Year revelry. We will have the homeward bound musical stylings of Bob Reuter and the record spin of Chris Lucas.

We will also be offering specialized hobo kits for all who arrive.

What: Hobo Chic Party
Dress: Brown Tie hobo style
When: 6pm to close
Entertainment: Bob Reuter performing his guitar and Chris Lucas spinning records
Cost: FREE but priority given those dressed properly
Secondary upcoming info of happenings at the Royale:
We will be closed on Xmas Eve, but we will be open for much needed holiday drinks on Xmas night at 8pm with an extra special record spin by Jim Utz and Thomas Crone.

We will also have a series of new way cool t-shirts available for sale- three styles(long sleeve, short and ringer) including one limited series of silk screened shirts by Sleepy Kitty. They make great Xmas gifts.

Peace and prosperity,

Steven Fitzpatrick Smith
Tavernkeeper
The Royale Food & Spirits
3132 South Kingshighway
STL, MO 63139
314-772-3600

www.theroyale.com
www.stlstreets.com

Free Daytime Beer samples for Mon and Tues of winter Break

Monday Tuesday drinking sessions at the Royale.
12/22,12/23,12/19,12/30,1/5,1/6

We have a bonus here for the long held tradition of the dignified
afternoon drink. For the next three Mondays and Tuesday afternoons
over winter break the Royale will be offering free beer samples until
4pm. We will also be running beer specials on Missouri beer
drafts($2.50) and the Bailout Cocktail for $2, a jump start of a drink
which includes beer, vodka and lemon juice. In order to fill out the
daylight nutrition we will have a bar soup line, offering our soup at
half price(till we run out.) These specials will be available only at
the bar, for table service will be held for dining. Various breweries
and styles will be featured in the samples, and the draft sample will
be the new Missouri beer on tap: Charleville Hoptimistic IPA. We will
be rotating this tap handle covering as many styles from breweries
that distribute here in the midwest.

And during these dignified afternoons, we will begin offering a slate
of cerebral engagement including Thesis Defense, Resume Writing
Workshops and a Beer School.

Next week(day to be determined) we will be hosting tavern defenses of
Doctoral thesis by the newly Doctored Peter Monahan of Washington
University. Monahan will be hosting a daytime drink in defense on his
thesis on the American Wildman. On December 30th Jackie Jones,
Doctoral Candidate at Saint Louis University will be defending her
thesis on McRee town: her project takes a look at how press and
planning document photography portrayed McRee Town, versus how the
residents saw it for themselves.

We will have further details and precise schedule forthcoming.

Secondary upcoming info of happenings at the Royale:
We will be closed on Xmas Eve, but we will be open for much needed
holiday drinks on Xmas night at 8pm with an extra special record spin
by Jim Utz and Thomas Crone.

We will also have a series of new way cool t-shirts available for
sale- three styles(long sleeve, short and ringer) including one
limited series of silk screened shirts by Sleepy Kitty. They make
great Xmas gifts.

And there will be another long email about this- but we are having a
special Hobo Chic New Year's party that will be a Brown Tie Affair.
Details will be included in a separate message.

Steven Fitzpatrick Smith
Tavernkeeper
The Royale Food & Spirits
3132 South Kingshighway
STL, MO 63139
314-772-3600

www.theroyale.com
www.stlstreets.com

Free Beer Samples Dec 16th

"Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."
-Frank Sinatra

In these tough economic times, we need to remember what is important. A daytime drink is one of the most dignified activities in a civilized world. And the Royale is here to help during these tough times.

Tuesday 11:30-4pm

Unemployment special(samples open for all regardless of work status): free beer samples and Missouri beer specials. We got to keep our scrilla close.

Participants subject to a Royale draft: S'mores kits manufacturing and cocktail napkin haiku reviews on demand.

Hungry and times are really though and love to spin records? Free lunch to whomever is down to throw down, just send me a set list for review.

The Royale is open to smokers and non-smokers alike. Just step outside if you want to drag. We are located on the southside, on Kingshighway just south of Arsenal accessible off the #30 and #95.

peace and prosperity,

Steven Fitzpatrick Smith
Tavernkeeper
The Royale Food & Spirits
3132 South Kingshighway
STL, MO 63139
314-772-3600

www.theroyale.com
www.stlstreets.com

Royale Holiday Update

Welcome to the Royale update.

We do have a heckuva NYE party forming, but we will get that info to you as soon as we make the final confirmations. Look out for the formal announcement soon!

We will be open on Thanksgiving Night for drinks starting at 8pm, so be sure to head down and enjoy the s'mores (which are available at the bar!) at our new fancy firepit out back. We will also have hottie toddies and hot cocoa w/ peppermint schnapps on the seasonal menu starting on Thanksgiving night. This will be the perfect night of fun for old friends. DJ Rob Levy will be spinning records.

We have a great event coming up here at the Royale- on December 7th, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day we will be hosting our first in a series of Theology on Tap which will be facilitated by Saint Louis University Theology Professor Tobias Winright PhD. There will be a short lecture- maybe 15 minutes and then the rest will be general good discussion about the morality of the wars that we have in our world.

What: Theology on Tap
Theme: Pacifism, Just war & Current Catholic Teaching on 'Legitimate Defense.'
Where: The Royale
When: Sunday December 7th 4pm
Who: Hosted by Saint Louis University Theology Professor Tobias Winright PhD who teaches Christian ethics at Saint Louis University and who is a former law enforcement officer.

And a few fun non-Royale events coming up are as follows:
Guns and Hoses! What is better than watching cops and firefighters go toe to toe in the squared circle. The boxing matches are on Wednesday night, so head down to the Keil or whatever they are calling it these days. http://www.scottradecenter.net/events/gunsnhoses.html

Rock and Roll Craft Show- this three day event(Nov 28,29,30) of handmade gifts by local artists will be held at Third Degree Glass over on Delmar just east of Union. This is one of the coolest ways to score gifts for the holiday season- and you get to keep the money local. I will be spinning records on Friday from 11am-3:45 with the help of some of the finer STL DJs. More info: http://www.rocknrollcraftshow.com/

And general Royale good news:

Yes, we got our new beer list up. I will be putting it online soon, but for now we have added the following selections:
Kingfisher: a snappy, clean Indian lager. Great with spicy foods
Left Hand Juju Ginger: Delicate malts, long spicy citric finish. Refreshing!
O'Dell's IPA: Intensely hoppy array of floral, fruity and herbal aromas and flavors.
La Fin du Monde: World class Belgian-style strong ale. Lush, elegant, warming. 9%

We also are bringing in some guest bottles- right now we have the Schlafly Christmas Ale and we will be picking up a few more selections in the coming weeks.

We also will be having a rotating regional beer. First we will be visiting Missouri- and right now we have the Charleville Half Wit Wheat and we will run through a few kegs and then move on to the next which will be Charleville's Hoptimistic IPA.

Stay tuned for more updates coming soon!

Steven Fitzpatrick Smith
Tavernkeeper
The Royale Food & Spirits
3132 South Kingshighway
STL, MO 63139
314-772-3600

www.theroyale.com
www.stlstreets.com

Attention Citizens: Important information!

I Vote!
II Election Returns Activities
III I need an intern! on Election Day and Night to help with my MTV coverage of the election.
IV I need leads and how to follow my feed

There is a historic election coming Tuesday, and it seems almost redundant to say this, but please go vote on Tuesday. Make sure that your friends and family vote as well. An engaged electorate makes for a healthy democracy.

Yes, we will be having an election returns watch party here at the Royale. All are welcome to settle in and watch the returns. Rob Levy of KDHX's Juxtaposition will be spinning records. We will have on display our 2000 Florida Election Machine including chads.

The weather looks like it will beautiful and we will be testing out some temporary outdoor televisions for that evening along with our new fancy firepits with free s'mores for all. There will be plenty of room with the outdoors in full effect. We will also have a special discounted menu for the evening's fare. We will also have a special $2 blue state special cocktail for every swing state when announced that turns blue. We will also have discounted $2 whiskey and cider cocktails while they last. We will also have special giveaways for that evening of some remaining Shepherd Fairey posters.

III I need an intern tomorrow! I will provide meals and transportation. As many know, I write a videoblog for MTV covering politics in the state of Missouri. They have sent me a live video camera to cover the Missouri election. You can find more here:
http://think.mtv.com/profile/theroyale

I need an assistant for the day and especially in the evening. I am set to interview the hip hop start Ludacris- ?? Yeah, I know, I am more of an Outkast guy, but sure yeah, Ludacris. He is going to be in town for some promotion and he is going to do some GOTV during the day and I need to spend some time with him that evening getting his response from the results. This is when I absolutely need some good responsible help. If you are interested, please let me know.

IV I need election hot spot information! I will be roving all day covering election day news and features. Please contact me via phone, text, email, twitter or facebook to let me know of any leads.

And if you want to follow my coverage, go to my MTV site:
http://think.mtv.com/profile/theroyale
or twitter: http://twitter.com/theroyale

Thanks and be sure to go vote!!

Obama Viewing, Halloween and Election Returns!

I Obama Message Viewing Party
II Halloween Party
III Election Watch Party

Greetings fellow Americans and friends from other lands who have joined us in this Union,

Tonight at the Royale we will be watching a commercial. I am not sure what to think about this for I have a natural aversion towards commercials(except for these emails of course!), but tonight's commercial is of particular interest. Barack Obama has bought out a chunk of time on network TV to communicate his message to the citizens of this nation. The spot is scheduled to start at 7:35 CST. We will have the volume on so feel free to come on down to watch and discuss with your fellow neighbors. And we will also have trivia and giveaways of the Shepherd Fairey Posters of Barack Obama, yard signs and other prizes.

Halloween will be visiting us on a Friday this year in our river city, and we are having a costume contest. The venerable Andrew "the fifth Ghostbuster" Scavotto will be dropping the spooky tunes all night long. We will have prizes including baskets of liquor bottles and beer. I take all my prize cues from Parish picnics. The unofficial theme this year is political history- so feel free to come as Calvin Coolidge, Ladybird Johnson, Winston Churchill or Checkers. Regular costumes will also be ranked as well, so feel free to come as a Rubik's Cube, Dorothy or the TinWoman.

And on Tuesday we will have a election returns watch party. It will be nice to stop having so many of watch parties and we can get back to watching normal horse races like the Kentucky Derby. We will have the place decked out with polling machines and political memorabilia. There will be a special priced patriot menu for the evening along with special drinks. We will also have free s'mores for the all-American outdoor types. And again we will also have trivia and giveaways of the Shepherd Fairey Posters of Barack Obama and other prizes.

Peace and Prosperity,

Steven Hussein Smith
Proprietor
The Royale Food & Spirits
3132 South Kingshighway
STL, MO 63139
314-772-3600

www.theroyale.com
www.stlstreets.com

Reminders from the past

Oh the memories. I was looking for my old sketch pad, for I have been commissioned to make another drawing this year for Art Attack so I dug through some old things in a box underneath my bed. And look what I found. How timely.

You see I saved papers. I know it is corny, but I collect all sorts of paper, especially newspapers. I used to be a paperboy for many years.  That was my first good money jobs that I started in the sixth grade. I sold the Post-Dispatch year round for about four years on various Saint Louis street corners selling the Sunday three star edition on Saturday night and also the five star final in front of the Catholic Church my family belonged to on Sunday morning. It was great work, and eventually worked up in the game and worked overnights in the distribution at convenience stores, supermarkets and newspaper stands.

So this particular find brings up all sorts of fond memories. It has been interesting looking at them. I remember this vividly at the time. I was just into my freshman year of high school. There are all sorts of things that could be observed about this market crash. I am not sure where to start, or if I even should comment.

After keeping these on my meeting table for a day just to sort of absorb news of this old paper. I glanced at the headlines and looked at the other headlines of the day. The other thing that popped up is that the US shelled an oil platform in the Persian Gulf. That seems odd. I didn't remember that at all. I guess that stock market crash distracted me at that tender age. That story did remind me of when our country shot down a normal passenger Iranian airliner over the gulf. And then that reminded me of the Korean airliner that was shot down in Soviet airspace.

That was really effed up.  But that is all history now.  Sad history.

So just a few minutes ago as I was repairing a few things outside after close, I heard something hit the side gate door.  I stepped out to see what it was.  It was a copy of the Post-Dispatch.  The woman who was delivering the paper was returning to her vehicle.  

"Sorry.  It was just too light to make it over the fence and it hit the door."

"No worries.  Tell them they need to put some more paper in the paper."

The woman agreed as she stepped back to her delivery minivan.

I picked up the paper and it indeed was light.  It made me a little sad.  I used to haul these papers and it felt good tossing around bundles.  I would read every inch of the papers.  I would read the full team baseball stats in the Sunday paper, the editorial page, Ann Landers and Mark Trail.  I would read the whole thing.

So I looked at the Post.  I am embarrassed to say, but I haven't been reading the paper.  I guess it stopped about three or so years ago but I still get a subscription and also a few other dailies.  I have had a subscription to the paper ever since I moved out of my folks house at 18. My apartments used to be littered with the daily paper.  I still read magazines, but I don't read the paper.  It makes me rather sad.

But the daily paper is not the same.  It feels different.  And it looks different.  These are superficial, sure, but for certain things I am a sucker for regardless.  I like Chevys and shined shoes.  I like newspapers that look and feel like newspapers.  

The feel is what got me.  I was used to heaving bundles of papers.  The paper is so much smaller now.  Not just in page numbers, but the actual size.  I knew there was something wrong, so I put the new paper next to the old Post. I always knew the Post was smaller that the Journal, and it was essentially the same size at the Times, but wow.  Look at it now.  It is tiny and a former shadow of itself.  Sad.

There is so much to learn from both the physical paper as much as there is to learn from the content.  The presentation of the stories, the story selection, the presentation of the actual paper, the content of the stories.  Perhaps there is more credence to the substantial paper.  Perhaps not.  Who knows?

I do know that sales of the paper were up during that market crash of 87.  I sold out quickly at my news stand. I knew it was hot, so I held on to an extra and I went and bought a Journal and Times for I knew this was the national scope.

I think over the course of the week I will peruse the old Post and the new Post to see what actually makes them different.  Hmmm.