The coffee shop Jason Wilson opened north of Delmar Boulevard closed last month after operating less than two years.
The reality TV show he starred in on Lifetime earlier this year was canceled in August, after just four episodes aired.
Wilson, 41, had signed on to both for similar reasons: To recast the way some people think of African-Americans.
With the coffee shop, Wilson wanted to provide a Starbucks-like atmosphere in a poor, largely black neighborhood where such enterprises are not typically found. He envisioned a space for civil discourse and community engagement.
The TV show, "BAPS," about well-to-do blacks in St. Louis, was to be a place Wilson and his friends could talk about meaty issues such as race, class and why the region is so segregated.
But with the coffee shop, the foot traffic was light, and with the TV show, the producers quickly focused on the strong, clashing personalities of the women. Low ratings and bad reviews led to its quick demise.
Had the show been a success and remained on the air, Wilson said, he and his friends could have been on a national stage discussing the story of the year. The one out of the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, where a white police officer fatally shot an unarmed black teen, Michael Brown, resulting in protests, looting and new fissures in a deeply divided region. Taping of the show ended four months before Brown was killed; the final episode aired four days after.
Had his Chronicle Coffee shop taken off, Wilson said he could be hosting community forums to discuss the Brown case and the police shootings of two young black men since then.
Instead, he's taking stock of missed opportunities.
He believes he knows why the coffee shop didn't take off. That expertise comes from the fact that he owns Northwest Coffee Co., with stores in the Central West End and Clayton. But the Chronicle business model called for a different approach — one he said he and his investors didn't follow through with.
"We collected data on how to be successful but abandoned it because we thought the way it worked here, it would work there," said Wilson as he sat in the bustling Clayton shop of Northwest Coffee.
"You have to respect the culture. We deviated. I don't think the offerings we had were conducive to that community. Scones aren't normal for that community. And not an expensive muffin. It's hard to market an $8.25 sandwich when you can go to Subway and get a foot long for cheaper or spend $2.75 for chicken fried rice.
"You can't compete with that."
The average income in the part of town where Chronicle is located, near North Grand Boulevard and Page Avenue, is about $30,000.
Wilson knew the location was a risk, but he said he saw an untapped market he wanted to pursue. He also knew signing on to a reality show would not necessarily allow him to control the narrative. But that, too, was a risk he was willing to take, seeing it as an opportunity to both promote the profile of the educated, well-to-do African-American and his upstart coffee shop.
"I could either spend $100,000 on advertising or make a go of it for free by doing the show," Wilson said.
He said Lifetime did not stay true to the pitch of showing African-Americans as successful business people, instead focusing on black women not getting along, including a much-hyped scene about one spitting on the other.
"Definitely, Lifetime had choices," and they fouled it up, Wilson said, using a profanity to describe how badly. ?
But so did the cast, he said.
"We let it happen, them picking up on the things they did, focusing on the things they did," he said.
He thought opening Chronicle Coffee in the first floor of the St. Louis Housing Authority was a good bet, timing it to planned development as part of the ambitious NorthSide project, led by Paul McKee. Little of that development has been realized.
"The reality is we need white people for this to be a success," Wilson said of Chronicle. "The black economy, it's not that strong. In order to really make a difference, you have to have the white community be a participant, have the entire community invested."
Wilson opened Chronicle in January 2013, a month after purchasing Northwest Coffee Co. He wanted Chronicle to have a different name and a different mission, aimed at a group not thought of as a coffee market. The idea of Chronicle Coffee began long before the purchase of Northwest was in his sights. For now, he will keep both names, although both serve the same coffee.
He continues to run Northwest Coffee and has signed a lease to open another Chronicle Coffee. But this one is south of Delmar, in Grand Center, and close to St. Louis University, a campus with a predominately white student body.
He hopes to have it open by year's end. And he remains confident the Chronicle Coffee shop that closed last month will be up and running again.
"Chronicle Coffee remains committed to our mission of investing in urban domestic emerging markets and erasing the Delmar divide that has long plagued our city," Wilson wrote on his Facebook page in announcing that the shop would close temporarily, on Oct. 13.
"Being the first coffee roasting company in St. Louis with this mission and in this part of the city, there is no blueprint for us to consult on this venture. We are taking this opportunity to strengthen the store and the Chronicle brand to better serve you. We have faced several challenges but have also been received warmly by the community and our loyal customers. For this support we are grateful."
Follow Doug Moore on Twitter @dougwmoore
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