Despite the considerable challenges the Covid pandemic imposed on the restaurant industry, Café Piazza continued to flourish and ultimately realized record annual performance.
ST. LOUIS, MO, February 17, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Tim M. Meinecke has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Mr. Meinecke grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, where he also began his restaurant career at the young age of 13. By 2003, Tim began his informal restaurant and business educations by securing positions as a busser and line cook at Vito's Pizza and Sicilian Ristorante. He continued to develop his management style and expand his knowledge of the industry during his employment at Vito's, and eventually secured the position of executive chef in 2013. Mr. Meinecke continued to serve in this capacity until 2016, at which point he stepped down to pursue his formal education in the restaurant industry.
Tim obtained an associate's degree from Moberly Area Community College in 2009 and a Bachelor of Arts in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Missouri in 2012. While Mr. Meinecke values his formal education, he credits much of his success to his extensive real world experiences. For example, while completing his studies at the University of Missouri, Tim also filled a variety of roles at nearby restaurants, including experiences as an assistant kitchen manager at Smoking Chicks BBQ, a line cook at TGI Fridays, and a kitchen manager for Sky Hi Grill.
While Mr. Meinecke has long held a passion for the restaurant industry, he always dreamt of coupling this passion with his entrepreneurial aspirations. Upon the completion of his formal education in 2012, Mr. Meinecke launched, Cafe 32 at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, which saw success in its very first year. Having confirmed his ability to succeed as a restaurant owner and entrepreneur, Tim vowed to bring his passions back to his home town of St. Louis, Missouri.
In 2017. Meinecke returned to St. Louis and opened Café Piazza in the Benton Park neighborhood. Drawing upon his past experiences, Mr. Meinecke successfully established Café Piazza as a community staple. When the Covid-19 pandemic rocked the industry in early 2020, Café Piazza was just entering its fourth year of business. Despite the considerable challenges the Covid pandemic imposed on the restaurant industry, Café Piazza continued to flourish and ultimately realized record annual performance. Café Piazza's momentum has continued and the restaurant subsequently smashed its prior annual sales in 2021. While Mr. Meinecke's own dedication is undoubtedly a primary factor in Café Piazza's unlikely success, he largely credits the support of the surrounding community.
Indeed, Mr. Meinecke's efforts to engage meaningfully with the local community has been clear throughout his ownership of Café Piazza. Upon opening the restaurant, for example, Mr. Meinecke quickly engaged the local St. Louis artist community and offered Café Piazza to serve as a gallery to display and sell their art to a new customer base. Today, Café Piazza's walls are, quite literally, covered in local art pieces that can be viewed and purchased directly by Café Piazza customers. Café Piazza also serves as a sponsor for 4 local St. Louis businesses. Every Thanksgiving, Café Piazza also provides free food to local charities and non-profits and, to date, has provided over 2,000 free meals to these valuable organizations. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Meinecke extended these efforts to regularly providing support and complementary meals to local hospitals, first responders, neighborhood organizations, and other St. Louisans who were most affected by the pandemic.
Mr. Meinecke's desire to develop his hometown, as well as his penchant for entrepreneurship, are both evident in his subsequent local business ventures; all of which are likewise focused on meaningful participation in the St. Louis community. In 2018, Mr. Meinecke launched Infamous BBQ, a locally-based food-seasoning manufacturer that is also located in the Benton Park neighborhood. In early 2021, Mr. Meinecke acquired a space directly adjacent to Café Piazza. Mr. Meinecke transformed this space into a new arcade titled Benton Parkade. His primary reason in opening an arcade, rather than another restaurant, was to provide neighborhood residents and local families a safe place to have fun and take a break from the mental fatigue that comes with the social isolation imposed by ongoing Covid challenges.
As for what comes next, Tim has set his sights on other areas of St. Louis and is currently expanding his efforts to Laclede's Landing, which will be home to his newest venture, The Cobblestone. Slated to open this year, The Cobblestone will be a boutique market and deli that caters to the needs of the rapidly expanding residential presence, as well as visitors to the nearby Arch Grounds, Greenway, concert venue, and local businesses.
While Mr. Meinecke has yet to solidify his next steps after his latest business opens to the public, he is certain that those plans will revolve around continuing to expand his involvement in St. Louis, and further developing his businesses and the neighboring communities.
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