Pharaoh’s Donuts opened at 8 Maryland Plaza on Halloween morning in a corner space sandwiched between Blue Mercury and Busey Bank, which unfortunately shuttered its Maryland Plaza location a week earlier. Proprietors Aman Asis and his daughter Syeeda Asis-Morris announced on Facebook that they sold out early.
This is Pharaoh’s second location in the City of St. Louis. The downtown store, in the Paul Brown building at 202 N. Ninth St., is where the kitchen is located. Donuts are made downtown and brought to the CWE in time for the 7 a.m. opening (these days the shop closes at 3), as there isn’t room for a kitchen in the new space.
The line on opening day wound around the corner, and this morning around 9 a.m. it was headed in the same direction. 
Cranes have come and gone over the past 5 years as more and more construction pops up in the CWE. The most notable to disappear recently was the gigantic crane that loomed over One Hundred Above the Park on Kingshighway for the past year or so.
On Friday morning a new tower crane was installed on York Avenue (between Maryland and Lindell) at the site of the new AC Hotel by Marriott. 
After a summer hiatus, the fountain on Maryland Plaza was returned to action the other day after repairs to the inner workings were completed. Though it won’t be long before it’s closed for the winter and the installation of the holiday tree, let’s savor the few weeks until then.
November is off to a good start. Please vote on Tuesday if you haven’t already.