On this episode of the Bourbon Friday Show, we had the opportunity to talk Jason Gifford, General Manager of The Last Hotel.

The Last Hotel—A Genuinely Local Experience

It comes as no surprise that The Last Hotel, one of the newest hotels in St. Louis, is helping play a part in preserving and paying homage to this city’s rich history.

Located in the St. Louis garment district in the International Shoe Company building, The Last Hotel is named after a “last”—a wooden structure similar to the shape of a foot, that was used in traditional shoe-making.

The International Shoe Company, built in 1910, was designed by architect Theodore Link, who also had a hand in creating St. Louis Union Station. At its peak, the International Shoe Company was the largest shoe manufacturer in the world—churning out nearly 53,000 pairs of shoes a day.

Though a great deal of effort was dedicated to preserving the original nature of the historic building, The Last Hotel has many modern amenities for St. Louisans and out-of-town guests to enjoy.

The Last Hotel has 142 rooms, a rooftop bar and lounge with a water feature, and The Last Kitchen—a bar and restaurant in the hotel’s lobby.

With rooms no smaller than 350 square feet, The Last Hotel hopes to attract families as well as solo travelers who enjoy ample space to relax and enjoy all St. Louis has to offer.

While The Last Hotel has many amazing features, Gifford says the thing that makes the experience special is the guests.

“We want local people to have their families staying with us. And we also want the locals to come in and use the restaurants, the rooftop, and all the venues in the hotel because we want the guests who are staying with us have a genuinely local experience.”

If you are interested in visiting The Last Hotel or booking a room go to https://thelasthotelstl.com/ or call (314) 390-2500.

Bourbon Innovation

As always, the Bourbon Friday team does their best to choose a fitting drink for the occasion.

The drink of choice was J. Rieger Private Stock. The history of this bottle hails back to the Prohibition Era when the Rieger Distillery and Hotel were mainstays in Kansas City. While the Rieger brand didn’t survive Prohibition, it was recently revived by a local Kansas City bartender and restaurateur, Ryan Maybee who relaunched the J. Rieger Distillery, after opening a restaurant in the old Rieger Hotel building and becoming fascinated with its history.