On the City of Clayton's event pages, the map pin for the Clayton Jazz Festival and the pin for Día de los Muertos land on the same address, 100 Carondelet Plaza. Both events close the same stretch of North Brentwood Boulevard between Forsyth and Maryland, three Saturdays apart. Party in the Patch falls in the middle, a few hundred street numbers south at Shaw Park, 27 S. Brentwood Blvd. So all three of the city's October evenings out happen on a single road.
This year that road carries most of the fall. Taste of St. Louis, the regional food festival that came to Clayton last year, is skipping 2026. Its new owners, Dustin Row and Patrick Zundel, told St. Louis Public Radio in August that they plan to bring it back in September or October of 2027. Last year's Clayton edition featured 27 locally owned eateries, including the Buffalo Spot, Trippy Bacon and Steve's Hot Dogs. With no Taste this year, Clayton's fall street season is down to what the city hosts itself, and nearly all of it happens along Brentwood.
The October calendar, in one place
| Date | Event | Where | Hours | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 3 | Clayton Jazz Festival, sixth annual | N. Brentwood Blvd., Forsyth to Maryland | 5 to 10 p.m. | Free admission; food and drinks for sale |
| Sat., Oct. 3 | Sylvie Dee's planned opening | 8115 Maryland Ave. | Expected 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday | Not applicable |
| Fri., Oct. 16 | Party in the Patch | Shaw Park, 27 S. Brentwood Blvd. | 6 to 8 p.m. | Ticketed; adult dinner $6 |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Día de los Muertos | N. Brentwood Blvd., Forsyth to Maryland | 4 to 8 p.m. | Free |
Oct. 3: jazz on the street, ice cream around the corner
The sixth annual Clayton Jazz Festival is presented by Autumn Hill Records and runs from 5 to 10 p.m. Admission is free, and food and adult beverages are sold on site. The city's estimated set times:
- 5:00 p.m. A tribute to John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme," with Kendrick Smith, Bernard Terry, Ptah Williams and Maurice Carnes
- 6:15 p.m. Bach to the Future, featuring Michael Silverman
- 7:30 p.m. The St. Louis All Star Jazz Jam
- 8:45 p.m. The Demarius Hicks Quartet, featuring vocalist Tracy Smith
Two house rules shape the evening. Outside food and drinks are not allowed, with water as the one exception, and a Hydration Station offers free bottle refills. Tables and chairs are first come, first served, and the city strongly encourages guests to bring lawn chairs. If you're planning a five-hour night that runs from the Coltrane opener to the Hicks closing set, bring a chair.
Sylvie Dee's is scheduled to open its third shop that same Saturday at 8115 Maryland Ave., in the former Posh Nosh space. The date has already changed once. Sauce Magazine updated its story on Sept. 23 to set Oct. 3 as the target, so treat it as a plan until the doors are open. The original shop opened in Webster Groves in June 2024 and a second followed at City Foundry in May 2025. The Clayton space took longer because it needed new plumbing, electrical work and flooring.
The ice cream menu matches the other locations, with cookie dough, mint chip, coconut fudge, bake shop and pecan praline among the top sellers, plus "Saturdaes," ice cream flights and ice cream nachos. Sauce reports the shop expects to start out open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, with hours that may change by season. The real news is the kitchen. Clayton gets the company's first in-house pastry program, led by Melissa Ragsdale of Ragsy Pastries. The plan starts with large cinnamon rolls, croissants in chocolate, pistachio, apple almond and ham and cheese, seasonal loaves, brownies, blondies and cookies.
"That's what's different about this shop. Now it's all in-house." Rachel Clossen, owner, speaking to Sauce Magazine
Sauce also reports that the Clayton pastry kitchen will eventually supply Maypop, another business Clossen and her team own. That makes a Maryland Avenue storefront a production base for more than one business. And because the shop serves pastry, it gives Clayton a reason to stop by in the morning as well as after dinner.
Oct. 16: the family night moves down the block to Shaw Park
Party in the Patch is the only one of the three evenings held in a park instead of on a closed street. Clayton and Brentwood Parks and Recreation host it jointly on Friday, Oct. 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. The program includes a candy hunt, hayrides, inflatables and fall crafts. Each child's registration comes with a hot dog dinner, and adults can buy dinner at the event for $6. Registration goes through the city's event page, so families should sign up ahead of time.
Oct. 24: the same block, rebuilt for Día de los Muertos
Three weeks after the jazz festival, North Brentwood between Forsyth and Maryland closes again. The city calls this year's Día de los Muertos "reimagined." It is produced in partnership with Hispanic Festival, Inc. and runs from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24. Admission is free. The program includes:
- A Community Altar and a Pet Altar
- Live Latin music, DJs and folkloric dance performances
- Salsa and bachata lessons
- The Catrina Procession
- An Artisan Mercado
- A sugar skull art station, face painting and a live mural artist
- Latin American food, handcrafted cocktails and aguas frescas
The last hour has its own name and a different feel. From 7 to 8 p.m., Noche de los Muertos brings illuminated décor, high-energy music, specialty cocktails and last-hour food and drink specials. As at the jazz festival, a Hydration Station offers free refills, and the city asks guests to bring reusable bottles. In practice, the afternoon is built for families and the final hour is built for adults.
The places that fill in the days between
The October evenings get the attention, but downtown's newer daytime spots are what people use on ordinary weekdays, and 2026 has added two of them.
Toast & Thyme, 231 S. Bemiston. Dan Powers, formerly chef-owner of Boogaloo, opened this weekday counter-service café on the ground floor of The Bemiston Tower. St. Louis Magazine described it as built for speed, serving chef-driven breakfast and lunch to office workers and anyone else who wants a fast meal done well. STLPR's January roundup counted it among that month's openings. The menu carries Powers' Caribbean influences, including a Cubaniche sandwich and his gumbo.
Nate's Kosher Deli, 7923 Forsyth Blvd. Nate's started serving takeout sandwiches on Monday, Feb. 2, and the St. Louis Jewish Light called it Missouri's only certified kosher deli. The menu includes burgers, chicken bites, sandwiches, wraps and salads, all certified by the Vaad Hoeir of St. Louis. On opening day, one of the most popular items was the "bullseye" schnitzel sandwich on a toasted baguette with beef bacon, caramelized onions and avocado. Before Clayton, Nate's operated briefly out of the former Kohn Kosher Deli space in Creve Coeur.
What's announced for the same blocks
The pipeline points back to the same part of downtown. The city's festival map pin sits at 100 Carondelet Plaza. Across the plaza at 105 Carondelet Plaza, the space Tony's left, Delmonico's Hospitality Group plans to open Citadel Prime. KSDK reports it will be the group's first restaurant outside New York, and the target opening is next spring. The Post-Dispatch reported that the exact opening date is not yet available.
Tre Cuori Gelateria & Açaí, whose flagship is in Ellisville, plans a second shop at 42 N. Central Ave. between January and February 2027. Owner Tassia Vicentin Rezende told Sauce the Clayton space will have an open design that lets guests watch gelato and açaí bowls being made. It will also have a 24-flavor case, some flavors created just for Clayton, and a dedicated play area for children. The Ellisville store currently offers 18 flavors, so Clayton's case will be larger. Once Tre Cuori opens, downtown will have two dessert shops that are new in the past six months, Sylvie Dee's on Maryland and Tre Cuori on Central.
Two other projects are still in motion. Mr. Meyer's Live & Vinyl Lounge, a planned hi-fi listening venue, has delayed its opening so it can move to a more prominent site. The St. Louis Business Journal reported the move in mid-September without naming the new location. Gigi's Cafe at 7645 Wydown Blvd., Matt McGuire's coffee-by-day, pizza-and-Italian-bar-by-night concept, was aiming for October when STLPR covered it in April. St. Louis Magazine still listed it as coming soon in early September.
If you're mapping October, the calendar comes down to one boulevard: North Brentwood on Oct. 3 and Oct. 24, and Shaw Park at the south end of Brentwood on Oct. 16. Sylvie Dee's on Maryland and the future Citadel Prime on Carondelet Plaza are both near the festival block. Dates for the newer businesses can still change, so check each one before you go.
At Jason D Cooper, we follow downtown Clayton block by block, from which storefronts are changing hands to which streets the city closes for its biggest nights. If you're weighing how Clayton's new openings and walkable event blocks fit into your next move, schedule a personalized consultation and we'll go through it street by street.
