Three people smashed the front window of Zephyr Bar + Salon on Cherokee Street overnight, then took off running as a dark-colored SUV sped away from the scene moments later. The business shared surveillance video of the incident and is now asking neighbors and anyone with information to come forward.
Surveillance footage shows the three individuals throwing an object that shattered the storefront window before they ran off, according to FOX 2. Zephyr gave the station permission to share the video publicly, and the business said its storefront window was broken as it asked the community for help identifying those responsible. Zephyr asked that people share even the smallest helpful detail, no matter how minor it might seem.
Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department at 314-444-0001 or reach out to Zephyr Bar + Salon directly at 314-371-0834. The business, located at 2303 Cherokee Street, operates as a hair salon by day and shifts into a neighborhood bar in the evenings and on weekends, according to Cherokee Antique Row.
What the Damage Could Mean Legally
The dollar value of the shattered window will likely determine how serious any eventual charges become. Under Missouri law, property damage exceeding $750 qualifies as a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison, while damage valued at $750 or less is treated as a Class B misdemeanor carrying up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, per the Revised Statutes of Missouri.
Small businesses hit by this kind of vandalism aren't entirely without recourse. St. Louis nonprofit main street organizations launched a grant fund last September allowing merchants to apply for up to $5,000 per incident to cover smashed windows and cleanup costs, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported at the time. The fund was created in response to a rise in storefront damage complaints across south city corridors.
A Corridor on the Rise, Still Dealing With Crime
The incident lands on a commercial strip that has seen real growth in recent years. Taxable sales along Cherokee Street jumped 85 percent between 2019 and 2023, climbing from $19 million to $35.7 million across more than 100 small businesses, according to the Cherokee Street Community Improvement District. That growth has coincided with capital investment nearby, including a $1.2 million overhaul of Love Bank Park at Cherokee Street and Nebraska Avenue that reopened in 2024 with new lighting and seating meant to boost foot traffic and safety, as detailed in earlier Hoodline coverage.
Citywide, property crime trends have generally moved in a positive direction. City of St. Louis statistics released in April 2025 showed overall crime at 20-year lows during the first quarter of that year, with burglaries down 33 percent year-over-year. Still, commercial property crime has periodically touched Cherokee Street before: a December 2022 federal indictment tied one suspect to more than 64 commercial break-ins across the city, including a burglary at the Economic Shop on the 2800 block of Cherokee Street.
Event Season Ahead for the Venue
The vandalism comes just ahead of one of Zephyr's bigger nights on the calendar. The bar and salon is listed as a participating venue for Cherokee Street's annual Coven Crawl, a district-wide evening pub crawl and shopping event set for October 10, designed to draw foot traffic to storefronts across the corridor.
No arrests have been announced, and the identities of the three suspects and the driver of the getaway SUV remain unknown. Police and Zephyr are relying on the public to help fill in the gaps left by the surveillance footage.
