ST. LOUIS – Shanisah Knight and her husband Jason typically go out for breakfast Sunday mornings. The first day of 2023 happened to fall on a Sunday and what seemed like a random conversation on New Year’s Day led to a new business. Jason proposed starting a diner.
Jason has decades of experience working in restaurant management. Shani has a background in customer service, operations, and accounting. They were looking for the right place when the City Diner’s lease became available. It seemed like a great fit.
“We were excited when it came for lease. We did not expect to get such a large place,” said Shani.
They are calling the new diner Gotham and Eggs. The name is a Batman reference and an inside breakfast joke between the Jason and Shani. The retro-theme of the City Diner will be muted for comic book and superhero decor. The couple are fans of the genre and plan on using a lot of their own memorabilia to decorate the restaurant.
“As a household, we are big fans of movies and TV. My husband says that Batman is a lifestyle,” said Shani.
Shani says that there was a lot left behind by the former tenants. The space is undergoing a massive clean-up, and you can check out their progress in real-time on Facebook. They are shooting for mid-July or early August opening.
“We’re going to stick with breakfast and brunch. A few traditional things like St. Louis slingers, biscuits and gravy, and play around with some lunch items. We’re still working on the menu and want to keep it simple,” said Shani.
The front of the restaurant will have the same dining layout. The back will be for larger groups. They are also interested in having vendors and artists use the area.
“During our clean-out, they found a lot of cool memorabilia connected to the City Diner. One wall may be preserved to remember the old restaurant,” said Shani.
Knight says that they are still meeting neighboring businesses. They were introduced to the owner of a nearby comic book store, and a post to his Facebook page has generated a lot of interest in their business. She is looking forward to a community presence on South Grand.
