× Expand Photography by Greg Rannells

Francis Rodriguez makes each wood-fired pizza at Yaquis on Cherokee to order. He pinches and shapes pizza skins by hand. He ladles house sauce and adds toppings. The pizza goes into the oven on a peel and emerges minutes later, speckled, hot, and fragrant—just as he and partner Beckie Lewis planned when Yaquis was but a dream.

The dream gained ground when Rodriguez finalized the purchase of the former St. Louis Brewers Association Hall that developer Ellis Wainwright built in 1895. Rodriguez waited until 12 minutes after 12 in the afternoon on December 12, 2012, to sign the papers for the building at 2728 Cherokee. (He admits to being a bit superstitious.)

“Our building was originally built as a tavern,” Lewis says. Once an eyesore, the building is now a neighborhood jewel. “We’re a public house, grounded in a community. We want to help grow Cherokee Street into a livable, densely populated neighborhood where you can walk to the store, the coffee shop, or the corner bar,” Rodriguez says.

And if that corner bar and restaurant serves up an awesome, hand-built pizza, it’s well worth the walk.