Historical Nature Poses Challenges for Pond Inn's Revival

A plan to turn the historic Pond Inn into a new, renovated restaurant and wine bar has run into delays caused by trying to bring the older structure up to modern standards. 


Owner Bethany Mehard had originally hoped to open last spring, but she recently told Patch she has “grown weary” of trying to predict an opening time. 

“The sticking point for progression lies in waste management and water runoff issues for the property,” Mehard said. 

The property was originally zoned as part of St. Louis County back in the 1970s when occupancy was based on the number of seats. The formula is now calculated on the square footage of the building.

This measure ups the capacity of the building, which in turns makes the size of the current septic tank insufficient and will force an increase in parking spaces.

However, the even larger issue, Mehard said, is that the drain field that will be required for the increase in septic distribution is larger than the property.

One option would be to hook the property up to the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) system that services the nearby Pond Elementary School, but that would require permission from the City of Wildwood. Officials with the city did not immediately return a request for comment on the issue.

The building is located at 17250 Manchester Road and when open, the restaurant will have outdoor patio seating, be available for private events, have wine club memberships and provide seasonal fare.