by Matt Kastner 
Nothing is quite as healthy as a meal consisting of bratzel (a bratwurst wrapped in a pretzel) and a bag of pretzel sticks. Or at least that is what I tell myself when I stop by Gus’ Pretzels twice a week. In business for about 90 years, Gus’ is a St. Louis establishment akin to Ted Drew’s. Back in the Spring of 2008, I was excited when I heard that they were going to make some significant improvements to the facade of the original building.
Representatives from Gus’ and Killeen Studio Architects (they handled the designs) publicly unveiled this elevation at that point with plans to start construction soon thereafter. As you can see from the drawing, significant improvements were set to be made on the facade of the original building and the signage was to get a major face lift. Nothing earth-shattering, but its always good to see continued investment from established businesses in South City. Flash forward to 2011, and it started to seem like the plans had been pushed aside. That is, until a few weeks ago when construction began. While it is still unknown if these original plans are going to be followed exactly, there is no doubt that much of the elevation has already been brought to life. As you can see from the picture gallery, the exterior is now nearly complete. Is Gus’ soon to have a little bit of seating for their patrons? Guess we’ll find out soon.
If you haven’t been to Gus’ Pretzels before, you should be ashamed. Located just across Highway 55 from the Anheuser-Busch Brewery at 1820 Arsenal, its just a few minutes south of Downtown. The next time you are at a Cardinals game, forget those knock-off bratzels they sell at the ballpark; stop by Gus’ and get the real thing.
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