Neighborhood-favorite Kopperman’s changes ownership

This past Monday, Sanford Rich, above, handed the keys to Kopperman's (located at 386 N. Euclid) over to Brian Shearrer and Darin Jenkins of Tower Grove South's Hartford Coffee Company. When we visited Sunday afternoon, Sanford said he couldn't ask for a better ending to his 31-year run in the restaurant business. He describes the new owners as young, enthusiastic, and in it for the long haul.  As a professed "pen and paper guy," Sanford knew that the business needed a hefty dose of social media, which Brian and Darin began on Day 1.

Sanford asked me to take his picture under the James Cagney photograph and be sure to put the following caption under it: "The gangster's staying in the neighborhood," (he lives nearby). Over the years Kopperman's devotees grew to include four generations -  grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren.

The circus posters that were prominently featured in the restaurant are now at the CWE's Link Auction Galleries awaiting an auction date. In the "what goes around…" department, Sanford purchased the posters years ago at a charity auction after seeing them on a Diane Sawyer CBS News broadcast. 

Craig, above, has been with Kopperman's since 1986, and will remain at the restaurant under the new ownership. The old photograph above Craig shows Sanford's grandparents and parents who ran Rich's Finer Foods, a grocery business that was located on Easton Avenue (now Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd.)

Sanford opened Kopperman's in December 1983 after Herb Carp, the founder of Balaban's, abandoned plans to open a charcuterie in that location following a heart attack. Sanford had experience in his family's grocery business and partnered with Myron Kopperman, who was the "friendly face" of Kopperman's while Sanford handled the finances. 

When I spoke with Hartford Coffee's Brian Shearrer yesterday, he said that he and Darin are just in the initial stages of getting the systems working. He wanted to assure neighbors and regular patrons that they do not plan to change much about Kopperman's, since it is such a landmark CWE institution. There are plans to freshen it up (amen to that!), paint the walls and ceiling, and then slowly add new menu items. Their own "Hartford Coffee" will be available starting tomorrow, and in the next week or so they'll offer counter service for coffee drinks, homemade breakfast items, scones, muffins. etc. Longer term plans include opening earlier – 6 or 6:30a.m.. and restoring dinner service.

Sanford Rich's final words as he angled in for a farewell smooch on the cheek were: "After thirty years in business I can walk out holding my head high." That's about as good as it gets.