Ste. Genevieve entrepreneurs make careers out of creativity

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Sam Conlon is battling an addiction.

OK, "battling" might be a generous description. "Perpetuating" might be a more accurate word to describe what she's doing as she and her friend Shannon McBride ease a display rack across the hardwood floor of the third historic building Conlon has bought since she came to this town about 60 miles north of Cape Girardeau 13 years ago.

Over the years, the building at 122 N. Main St. -- which houses an as-yet-unnamed business Conlon and McBride said probably will be called "Rust" -- housed everything from an upholstery shop to a dance studio before closing its doors and sitting dormant for more than a decade.

"It's been vacant for 12 of the 13 years that I've lived here, and I have this problem in that I can't watch a beautiful, historic building rot, so I have three beautiful, historic buildings that are fixer-uppers," Conlon said on a recent afternoon. "I don't know what I was thinking."

If appearances are any indication, Conlon isn't the only one in Ste. Genevieve with a weakness for historic properties.

All over town, French Colonial buildings -- some dating to the 18th century -- have been restored and are in use as historic sites.

Other historic structures have been repurposed: Baristas serve cappuccino and generous slices of pie from a onetime fire station; kegs of malt and yeast bubble on a shelf in a former bank vault; and Conlon recycles metal roofing into lanterns and sculptures in the old city water department.

Conlon's historic preservation habit began with a single building at 176 N. Main St., where she opened a jewelry shop called Only Child Originals.

Behind the storefront that houses Only Child, Conlon has planted a lush garden featuring waterfalls, flowers, herbs and plenty of handmade sculptures and candle holders.

Two cats, Squeak and Lulu, patrol the garden and visit with customers in the shop.

Gary Bourisaw pours a sample of home-brewed beer at his beer and winemaking supply shop, The Spirit Haus, in downtown Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. (Emily Priddy)

Down the block at Rust, Conlon and McBride contemplate a display of the upcycled tin sculptures Conlon is selling to fund the restoration of "Sadie," a building that once housed the city's water department but now serves as her studio.

Conlon is uncertain of the Rust building's age, but she estimates it was constructed sometime in the 1880s or 1890s. She said the original owner's youngest son was born there in 1906.

He "was born in the living room and was embalmed in the living room" after falling to his death while painting a railroad trestle, Conlon said.

One of the unfortunate man's descendants told Conlon a jar of his blood was buried in the backyard, she said.

Above Rust is an apartment, which Conlon is renovating.

"I was a starving artist before I bought this building. ... I've got to get that apartment done, or we're all going to starve to death," she said. "We're getting really sick of ramen."

Conlon isn't the only one turning creativity and hard work into a livelihood in downtown Ste. Genevieve.

Across the street at 173 N. Main St., Gary Bourisaw sips a glass of home-brewed beer and peers through his glasses at a stack of paperwork.

Bourisaw opened The Spirit Haus, a winemaking and home-brewing supply shop, in December.

He would like to sell finished beer and wine in addition to supplies and equipment, but that requires approval from four government agencies.

Bourisaw has his federal and city licenses. Turning an old bank vault into a commercial kitchen suitable for making beer and wine took a little longer, but he eventually met all the health department's requirements, too.

Now he is just waiting for his state license to be approved.

"It's been just a real challenge to get this off the ground," Bourisaw said.

Sam Conlon’s cat Squeak investigates the pond in the garden behind Only Child Originals in downtown Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. (Emily Priddy)

Ideally, he would like to have his license in time to make a batch of wine to sell during Ste. Genevieve's Jour de Fete in early August.

"I'm going to have thousands of people in the street, and here I am, sitting on my thumb," he said.

While he waits, Bourisaw gives away samples of his homemade beer and wine; entertains visitors with tales of the adventures -- and misadventures -- he and his wife experienced while living on a houseboat for five years; and sells enough brewing and winemaking supplies to keep his doors open.

Despite the frustrations that come with the red tape, Bourisaw -- an affable storyteller -- admits it could be worse.

"I'm paying my bills, and I'm getting to drink some pretty good wine," he said.

epriddy@semissourian.com

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