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What ever happened to Joe’s Café?
(by Tim Woodcock - October 01, 2008)
For several years Bill Christman opened up his studio on Thursday evenings to the general public and it was like a portal into another world. He would emcee the evening, which usually featured a local folk group as the core of the evening’s entertainment. But many people came to soak up the speakeasy-like atmosphere of this unlikely venue tucked away inside a residential area.
Christman did not advertise the event but through its word of mouth reputation it grew quickly. It became hard to find a seat unless one got there early, and the joint was often over-run with Washington University students and assorted hipsters, especially near closing time. Although Thursdays at Chrisman’s studio was a beloved tradition to some in the neighborhood, others pointed the finger at the event for causing problems with parking, litter and noise.
The event was closed down by the city earlier this year. Because it is a BYOB event Christman is not pursuing a license to sell alcohol, but the city has pushed him to apply for a “consumption of alcohol” license, if he wants to revive the event.
Christman says he is enjoying the hiatus but intends to revive the Thursday night tradition, albeit with earlier hours and more of a neighborhood focus.
Who is Joe?
The cafe in the front part of the studio is named in honor of Christman’s lifelong friend Joe Ouellett, who died of cancer in 2000. Christman calls Joe “the patron saint and namesake” of the venue.
Christman recalls building things with Ouellett as a child, and one occasion in particular when they were working on a go-cart. It was Good Friday and the tradition at the time was for Catholic schoolchildren not to speak between the hours of noon and 3 p.m. — the hours of Jesus’ crucifixion — but this didn’t create any problems as they worked on the go-cart. Years later, when working together at the City Museum, “we still had that ability to work without having to talk. We just intuited,” he says.
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