Olive Boulevard Is Becoming Two Streets: Big Boxes at I-170, Small Kitchens to the East

"All three of the main anchors are very large, sales tax-driven organizations," University City Mayor Terry Crow told First Alert 4 on the day Dierbergs opened in May. When he said that, two of the three were open and the third was 12 days away.

All three are open now. The Market at Olive project at I-170 has finished building its anchors. The next changes on University City's part of Olive Boulevard are much smaller. They are happening one lease at a time in the blocks east of the big lots, and in a county paving project that is meant to change how the street works. If you live here, your Olive errands and your Olive dinners now happen at very different scales.

The I-170 end is done

The 50-acre Market at Olive took several years to fill in, according to First Alert 4's May 20 report. Here is what it holds as of this fall:

Target was set to open on Sunday, May 17. When First Alert 4 visited for its May 20 story, shoppers were already inside. Store director Kaylee Higgins told the station, "This is the largest store in the state. It's 149 thousand square feet." She also said the store carries "a lot of stuff that everyday stores don't have." According to Explore U. City's write-up of the Fox 2 story, the store includes a CVS Pharmacy, a Starbucks and an Apple at Target section. It also offers drive up, order pickup and same-day delivery.

The Dierbergs is more local than a standard grocery store. The Dierbergs opening announcement lists a Corner 17 restaurant inside the store, plus Bob's BBQ, Dierbergs Kitchen, a butcher shop and a bakehouse. First Alert 4 reported a wide selection of kosher items.

The size of the leftover small-shop space shows how lopsided this end of Olive is. Dierbergs says two more multi-tenant buildings will add about 8,500 square feet of retail, restaurant and service space along Olive. That is less than 6 percent of the Target's floor area, split between two buildings. No tenants have been named for that space yet. The big decisions at the I-170 end have been made, and what remains to fill is small.

East of the anchors, change comes one storefront at a time

Head east toward Skinker and the pattern is very different. No developer is assembling 50 acres. Single addresses are changing tenants, each on its own schedule. St. Louis Magazine's early-October openings roundup lists three on University City's part of Olive:

• Bukchon Kimbap, 7827 Olive. It takes over the former Chuang Yi Bentos space. The magazine listed an announced soft opening on October 8. That listing is from the magazine's early-October press date and does not confirm the doors actually opened.
• Café O'Play, 6757 Olive. Opening October 21.
• Double Sword Ramen & Udon, 8111 Olive. Listed for "fall" in the former Frank & Helen's Pizzeria building.

The 8111 address has the longest history. St. Louis Magazine reported in October 2024 that Frank & Helen's had been part of University City for nearly 70 years. The magazine described a room full of "neighbors, police officers, families, high school students, and everyday folks" who came for pizza and broasted chicken. The final service was planned for December 8, 2024. According to the magazine, the building's owner planned a different concept for the space. Almost two years later, the building is on track for its next tenant, a ramen and udon shop.

Café O'Play shows how different these eastern storefronts are from the stores at the west end. St. Louis Magazine's September feature explains that Urban Sprouts Child Development Center, a local child development center, is opening it. The café will serve specialty coffee, breakfast and lunch, with play materials and books for kids. It will be open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. That is six and a half hours a day. The Target a few miles west is open 16. The magazine says preschoolers helped dream up the café, and that Urban Sprouts plans to add after-school programming and food access for local families later. Alexis Qualls of Urban Sprouts told the magazine plainly who the space is for: "If you don't want to hear kids in the background while you're working, it's probably not the space for you."

The kitchens that have held their corners

The new storefronts are opening next to restaurants that have been on this stretch for years. Many of them are part of the Asian food scene that gives this part of Olive its reputation:

1. Wonton King, 8116 Olive. A Cantonese spot for dim sum and dinner. Explore U. City noted in October 2024 that it had been in business for more than 20 years. It sits across the street from the coming Double Sword.
2. Cate Zone Café, 8148 Olive. It specializes in Dongbei cuisine from northeastern China. Sauce Magazine's April 2025 roundup says the original University City restaurant opened in 2016.
3. ChiliSpot, 7930 Olive. A Sichuan restaurant included in the same Sauce feature. It is a block from Bukchon Kimbap.
4. LuLu Seafood & Dim Sum, 8224 Olive. A longtime dim sum stop listed in St. Louis Magazine's University City guide.

Put them on a map and the 7800 to 8200 blocks hold four established kitchens and two new ones within a few hundred feet. First Alert 4's Dierbergs story said Olive was lined with smaller, independent businesses in 2018. At the I-170 end, the anchors replaced that pattern. East of there, it is still how the street works.

Next up is the street itself

Now that the retail chapter is mostly finished, the next change to Olive is the road. St. Louis County's Olive Boulevard project, AR-1822, covers Olive from Ferguson Avenue to Skinker Boulevard. The scope includes:

• Pavement resurfacing, plus curb and sidewalk repairs
• Accessible Pedestrian Signals at crossings
• A lane reduction to make room for bike lanes
• Replacement of the traffic signal at Kingsland Avenue

The project has been in the works since design started in winter 2020. The county held virtual public meetings on August 10, 2023 and July 25, 2025, and its posted construction window is Summer 2026 to Winter 2026. Lamke Trenching and Excavating was the low bidder at $1,630,521.08 when bids were opened on November 12, 2025. The project page doesn't say how many lanes Olive will have after the reduction, and it gives no current closure details. It does say businesses and homes with affected driveways will get at least 24 hours' notice before crews work on those entrances. The county's construction line is 314-615-1150.

A longer-range plan is starting at the same time. East-West Gateway chose University City's Olive corridor, from Skinker to I-170, for its Great Streets program. Its request for proposals is dated August 12, 2026, and proposals were due September 11. This is a planning study, with no construction attached. It will make recommendations on land use, transportation, public space and long-term upkeep, and it covers whole properties along the corridor as well as the roadway. The RFP states the local goals this way:

"to establish Olive Boulevard as a central, unifying spine of refreshing, active and inviting spaces, economic vitality, and practical community functions; to establish a common ground along a corridor that has, in ways, symbolized division and friction."

The document also says the plan should be "sensitive to local planning fatigue and desire for timely implementation." The RFP doesn't name a consultant or a completion date, so the plan's timeline is still open.

The fall on Olive, in order

Here is the sequence on the calendar, using the dates the sources give:

1. October 8: Bukchon Kimbap's announced soft opening at 7827 Olive.
2. October 21: Café O'Play opens at 6757 Olive, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
3. Fall: Double Sword Ramen & Udon at 8111 Olive.
4. Through Winter 2026: The county's scheduled construction window for resurfacing and bike lanes from Ferguson to Skinker.

Restaurant opening dates often slip, so check each spot's own channels before you go. The Wonton King, Cate Zone, ChiliSpot and LuLu addresses stay the same through all of it, and the new restaurants are opening a few doors away.

If you're thinking about how changes on Olive could affect a home on the blocks nearby, DeMaggio Partners follows University City block by block and is happy to talk it through. Let's talk about your next move. Book a free consultation or get your home valuation.