Celebrity Sproutings

Celebrity Sprouting with the Tkachuk Family

Meredith Boggess

tkachuk_family_sm If you imagine legendary St. Louis Blue Keith Tkachuk’s family spending all their free time huddled by an ice rink, you'd only be partly right. While Keith's wife Chantal admits that, with two of the couple's three children involved in competitive hockey, they do log a fair amount of ice time, she had plenty of other things to share about what the Tkachuks do off the ice. Read on to see how she, Keith, Chantal, and their three children Matthew, 12, Brady, 10 and Taryn, 7, enjoy St. Louis.

Pictured (L-R): Taryn, Keith, Chantal and Brady, Matthew in front

How long have you lived in St. Louis?
We have been here since 2001, so the things we like to do have changed as our children have gotten older. But we continue to love it here and find new things to enjoy. It’s such a cliché, but it really is such a great place to raise a family—great schools, great attractions and great people. So many wonderful people took us under our wing when we arrived. We have no plans of moving!

So are there any things you still like to do that are holdovers from when your children were smaller?
Our kids still love The Magic House, City Museum and the St. Louis Zoo —the attractions all St. Louis families treasure.

Any special traditions your children look forward to?
We hit Six Flags each summer and always have a great time. And every year at Christmas we visit Tilles Park to see the light display—how can you not have fun doing that? Some years we even go all out and get a carriage ride, too!

You have an athletic bunch—how prominently do sports figure in to your family time?
Sometimes it seems like sports is our family time! My sons play hockey, lacrosse, soccer and basketball, and my daughter dabbles in everything from field hockey to figure skating. We spend lots of time at games and practices, but my kids have always loved it. We have tickets for the Cardinals and Blues games, which we enjoy taking in as a family.

Do you ever play as a family?
We belong to the Missouri Athletic Club, and it has really become a way to spend time together. The boys like to play in the gym, my daughter likes to play tennis, and we all like to have dinner together. When Keith was still playing hockey, it was something fun we could do together whether he was traveling or home with us. We also spend a lot of time playing at home—basketball in the yard or street hockey. We even have a serious whiffle ball tournament at Thanksgiving.

So surely you work up an appetite! Where does your family like to eat around town?
We love Scape in the Central West End for brunch. It’s great food with a unique atmosphere, and since we live in Creve Coeur, it’s a treat to go to the Central West End every now and then. Another favorite breakfast spot is Schneithorst. Our favorites for dinner are Paul Manno’s, The Melting Pot, Morton’s and Stir Crazy. Because we’re so busy, we don’t often have time to go out for a dinner as a family, so when we do, we try and make it special!

The Tkachuk Family Picks:

City Museum, 701 North 15th St., St. Louis, MO 63103, 314-231-2489

The Magic House, 516 S. Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO 63122, 314-822-8900

Missouri Athletic Club, Two Locations, 405 Washington Ave., St. Louis, MO 63102, 314-231-7220
1777 Des Peres Road, Town & Country, MO 63131, 314-539-4444

St. Louis Blues, Scottrade Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, MO 63103, 314-622-2500

Saint Louis Cardinals, Busch Stadium, 700 Clark St., St. Louis, MO 63102, 314-345-9600

Saint Louis Zoo, 1 Government Drive, St Louis, MO 63110, 314-781-0900

Six Flags St. Louis, 4900 Six Flags Road, Eureka, MO 63025, 636-938-4800

Tilles Park, 9551 Litzsinger Road, St. Louis, MO 63124

Restaurants

The Melting Pot, Two Locations, 6683 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO‎ 63130, 314-725-4141‎
294 Lamp and Lantern Village, Chesterfield, MO 63017, 636-207-6358

Morton’s, 7822 Bonhomme Ave., Clayton, MO 63105, 314-725-4008

Paul Manno’s, 75 Forum Shopping Center, Chesterfield, MO 63017, 314-878-1274

Schneithorst's, 1600 S. Lindbergh Road, St. Louis, MO 63124, 314-993-4100

Scape, 48 Maryland Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63108, 314-361-7227

Stir Crazy, 10598 Old Olive Street Road, St Louis, MO 63141, 314-569-9300

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Celebrity Sprouting with "Kevin the Intern"

Meredith Boggess

Berghoffs When he’s not penning funny radio jingles, cracking jokes or being the fall guy on the one of St. Louis’ best-rated morning radio shows (Phillips & Company on Y98 FM), Kevin ‘The Intern’ Berghoff hits the town with his wife Sara and 4-year-old daughter, Kennedy. We caught up with the busy dad at the Y98 studio in downtown St. Louis.

Your job on the morning show requires some pretty demanding hours. What do you like to do with your precious down time?
Like most families, Sara and I try to take advantage of every second of our weekend time. We live in Grafton, Ill., so most of our regular hangouts are on the east side of the Mississippi, but we take advantage of some St. Louis attractions, too.

Now that summer is approaching, what are you most looking forward to?
My daughter loves Raging Rivers WaterPark. We have a season pass and really make the most of it since it’s five minutes from our house.

Are you an outdoorsy family?
We have really come to appreciate the Nature Institute in Godfrey, Ill. They have all kinds of cool hiking, wildlife watching and other programming for kids, stressing conservation and environmental awareness. We just discovered it last year, and it has become one of our favorite places! We also love picking the awesome peaches, apples and pumpkins at Eckert’s orchards when the time is right.

Where do you like to go when you feel like crossing the river?
We love the Saint Louis Science Center. It’s a wonderful—and free!—resource for families to go and indulge in their kids’ curiosities. We also are regulars at the Nascar Speed Park by the St. Louis Mills. And who could forget Six Flags? Kennedy can’t get enough of Bugs Bunny National Park!

Your daughter has cochlear implants and attends Central Institute for the Deaf. Have you discovered any particular places that are great for families with children who need accommodations?
A few years ago, St. Louis Children’s Hospital oversaw the construction of a fully accessible playground in Tilles Park in St. Louis County. On normal playgrounds, the static electricity on plastic slides can erase the mapping on Kennedy’s implants. At this park, there are grounded metal slides, so that can’t happen. Plus there are all kinds of cool accommodations on the other equipment so that all kids can enjoy them.

So, what about food? Where do you like to eat when you’re away from home?
Near our house we frequent the Fin Inn, which is kid-friendly and super cool because they have these huge aquariums where you can check out the river fish. Another great Grafton spot is the restaurant in the Ruebel Hotel. In St. Louis we are crazy about both Fortel’s Pizza Den and America's Incredible Pizza Company (http://www.incrediblepizza.com/locations), which is like Chuck E. Cheese, but better. Sara and I have as much fun as Kennedy!

Kevin's Picks
America's Incredible Pizza Company
Two locations: St. Peters and St. Louis
314-842-0700

Eckert's
Three Illinois Locations: Belleville, Grafton and Millstadt
618-233-0513
See events at Eckert's in the Sprout Calendar.

Fin Inn
1000 West Main St.
Grafton, IL 62037
618-786-2030

Fortel's Pizza Den
Multiple locations
1-866-4-FORTELS

Nascar Speedpark
5555 Saint Louis Mills Blvd.
Hazelwood, MO 63042-4454
314-227-5600

The Nature Institute
2213 S. Levis Lane, Godfrey, IL, 62035
618-466-9930

Raging Rivers
Great River Road, Grafton, IL, 62037
618-786-2345

Ruebel on Main
217 East Main Street
Grafton, IL 62037
618-786-2315

Saint Louis Science Center
5050 Oakland Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63110
314-289-4400
See events at the Saint Louis Science Center in the Sprout Calendar.

Six Flags St. Louis
4900 Six Flags Rd.
Pacific, MO, 63069
636-938-5300

Tilles Park
9551 Litzsinger Road
St. Louis, MO 63124