The building at 8111 Olive Boulevard started out as a car wash. In 1967 a pizzeria moved in after outgrowing its first spot at Olive and Midland, and for the next 57 years the address meant Frank & Helen's: thin-crust pizza, charbroiled steaks, broasted chicken and a creamy garlic dressing whose recipe Frank guarded for most of his tenure, as St. Louis Magazine recounted.
The next tenant has been announced. According to St. Louis Magazine's October openings tracker, Double Sword Ramen & Udon is coming to 8111 Olive, with "fall" as its only timeline. If it opens, the most famous pizza address on this part of Olive will be serving noodles. It will also sit a few doors from a dim sum restaurant and a few blocks from several more. The independent kitchens arriving on Olive Boulevard in University City this fall are coming in the same way, taking over existing storefronts one address at a time in the 7800 to 8200 blocks.
How 8111 Olive Lost Its Pizzeria
The Frank & Helen's story is a lease story. In its spring and fall 2024 coverage, St. Louis Magazine reported that the longtime landlord sold the building in September 2023 to a buyer who planned to open her own restaurant in the space. Owners Becca and Patrick Horvath, who bought the business in 2008, looked at buying the building themselves. They decided against it because of the repairs and upkeep it needed, and started searching for a new location instead.
That search ended with the announcement the Horvaths posted to Facebook, quoted in St. Louis Magazine:
"We have been on the search for over a year and after looking at two dozen buildings and talking to our banker, we have decided a move is just not feasible for us. We are unwilling at this time in our lives to take out a million dollar loan."
The last night of service was December 8, 2024. Patrick Horvath had already put the problem plainly in April of that year, telling the magazine, "The leasing prices are so high. If we have to do a buildout, it requires a loan."
That math applies to every storefront on the corridor. A building that changes hands can change its use. An operator who wants to stay on Olive either takes over an existing space or pays for a buildout. Nearly two years after Frank & Helen's closed, the building has an announced successor, and the other independent kitchen to arrive this fall followed the same pattern by moving into a space someone else had already built out.
The 8100 Block Already Had Dumplings
Double Sword's announced address is just a few numbers from Wonton King at 8116 Olive, which Sauce Magazine included in its April 2025 roundup of Asian restaurants and described as a dim sum destination that also serves lunch and dinner. A little farther west, Lu Lu Seafood & Dim Sum at 8224 Olive had its location page up with posted hours and online ordering in late October 2026.
East of 8111, the same Sauce list featured ChiliSpot at 7930 Olive. Add Double Sword and the newest kimbap counter, and the stretch looks like this, from east to west:
- Bukchon Kimbap, 7827 Olive: Korean kimbap and street food, in the former Chuang Yi Bentos space
- ChiliSpot, 7930 Olive: featured by Sauce in 2025
- 8004 Olive: former home of Mandarin House
- Double Sword Ramen & Udon, 8111 Olive: announced for fall in the old Frank & Helen's building
- Wonton King, 8116 Olive: dim sum, lunch and dinner
- Lu Lu Seafood & Dim Sum, 8224 Olive: open with posted hours as of late October 2026
That is roughly 400 address numbers of Olive Boulevard, and nearly every stop is a noodle, dumpling or rice-roll kitchen. The ramen-and-udon concept moving into 8111 lands in the middle of that run.
Old Addresses, New Menus
Number 3 on that list is a reminder that the stretch has had turnover for years. Riverfront Times reported in July 2022 that Mandarin House at 8004 Olive had closed. A sign on the door called the closure temporary, but the paper's sources said it was permanent. Farther along the corridor, KSDK now refers to the University City grocery site as the "former Seafood City supermarket."
This fall's new kitchen at the east end of the stretch is a direct handoff. Bukchon Kimbap took over 7827 Olive from Chuang Yi Bentos and announced a soft opening for October 8, according to the St. Louis Magazine tracker. Its directory listing shows a menu built around kimbap, including beef bulgogi and fried tofu versions, plus cheese tteokbokki, Korean corn dogs and matcha drinks. The space went from bentos to kimbap: one rice-based lunch counter replaced by another, using a buildout that was already there.
The Ends of the Corridor Are Filling Differently
Outside the 7800 to 8200 cluster, Olive's two other fall additions show two other ways the corridor fills its storefronts.
At the east end, Café O'Play at 6757 Olive comes from Urban Sprouts Child Development Center, the early childhood center founded in 2010. On the morning of the ribbon cutting, the St. Louis American reported that founder and CEO Ellicia Lanier celebrated with her family and that Urban Sprouts alumni co-hosted. University City Mayor Terry Crow told the crowd, "U. City is proud to have you here and have you expanding here." The café adds to the center's existing University City campus, so it is less a storefront rental than an organization building on its own footprint.
St. Louis Magazine reported that daily service was scheduled to start October 21, with hours from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The menu covers specialty coffee, breakfast, lunch and options for kids, and play materials and books are on hand while parents eat or work. The planned menu included pastries, croissants, salads, bowls, breakfast burritos and a children's menu. Alexis Qualls, Urban Sprouts' director of storytelling and engagement, told the magazine, "If you don't want to hear kids in the background while you're working, it's probably not the space for you. But that's the whole point of it." Revenue from the café supports Urban Sprouts' nonprofit work, and the space is also meant to host a new after-school program for ages 5 to 12.
At the west end, a national franchise has arrived. Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers lists its University City location at 8666 Olive Blvd, with carry-out, delivery and daily hours starting at 10:30 a.m., and later closing times on Fridays and Saturdays.
Put the three together and the corridor has three ways of filling space. A nonprofit expands on its own campus, and a chain adds a location. In between, independent kitchens move into buildings that earlier restaurants built out. The independents are the ones adding to the noodle and dumpling stretch in the middle.
Timing a Trip Down Olive in November
The new spots don't all run on the same clock, and that matters for anyone planning a meal around them.
- Café O'Play is a morning and lunch stop, with posted hours ending at 2 p.m.
- Bukchon Kimbap started with a soft opening, and the Instagram account linked from St. Louis Magazine's tracker is the most direct place to check current hours.
- Double Sword Ramen & Udon was still listed as "coming soon" in St. Louis Magazine's early-October roundup.
- Wonton King, ChiliSpot and Lu Lu are the established kitchens on the stretch, and Lu Lu takes online orders through its own site.
For anyone combining a Loop outing with dinner on Olive, the Loop Trolley is out of the picture for now. FOX 2 reporting put the 2026 season from April 30 through October 25, running Thursday through Sunday on a 10-stop route between the University City Library and the Missouri History Museum. That season ended before November.
The next change to watch is at 8111 Olive, where the former car wash that held Frank & Helen's for 57 years is waiting on Double Sword. If you own a home near Olive and want to know how the businesses opening around you could figure into its value, The Winckowski Group is happy to walk through it with you. Request your free home valuation.
