Joe Edwards Talks Brandt's Cafe Closing and Security Cameras in the Loop

Loop businessman Joe Edwards said it was "pretty small" of Brandt's Cafe owner Adam Brandt to blame the demise of his restaurant on the Loop area.

"All it does is hurt all these businesses that remain," said Edwards at Tuesday's meeting of the Loop Special Business District. Edwards serves on the board of the U City Special Business District. He was its president for many years.

Following the recent closure of Brandt's, owner Adam Brandt posted a message on the venue's Facebook saying "The Loop has been declining steeply over the past two years, and has only gotten worse in recent months."

He also told the St. Louis Post Dispatch that an uptick of crime in the Loop had driven away his business.

Edwards said a glance at any of the comment section of numerous articles on the closing of Brandt's told the real story behind the restaurant's downturn. Many comments blamed lousy business practices, not criminal activity for keeping them away.

"Everybody is pretty savvy around the metropolitan area and people didn't believe a word he said. They realized he was not being very accurate," said Edwards.

Meanwhile, Edwards said a camera surveillance system should be installed in the Loop probably before the start of next summer. The plan is to place them on buildings throughout the Loop. The move has been in the works for sometime, but looked to be more imminent after a particular disruptive weekend in April involving hundreds of young people.

At Tuesday's meeting, Edwards said University City officials want to make sure the camera system can be integrated with Washington University's surveillance system in the Loop.

"As much as I hate to wait...It's worth it to do it right," he said.