Scott Schnuck

CEO Schnuck Markets, Inc.

Welcome to Culinaria, a new and exciting venture designed to meet the food and pharmacy needs of St. Louis’ growing downtown community!   

In 70 years of serving St. Louis customers, Schnucks has hired and developed a number of food and beverage experts, and now, we literally are turning our business inside-out, giving you access to a team that shares both passion for great food and dedication to great customer service! 

The staff of Culinaria has been hand picked to serve you based on their level of experience, their passion for food and their desire to bring you an incomparable food and culinary experience. 

Culinaria is also bringing a full-service Schnuck Pharmacy to downtown St. Louis.  Our pharmacy team’s healthy living platform will help ensure that you have the quality of care you need located just around the corner. 

Whether you are a downtown resident, commuter or tourist to our great city, we welcome you and invite you to drop in and see what’s cooking at Culinaria!

Bring out the foodie in you!

Tom Collora Jr

Store Manager

Tom Collora, the manager of the new downtown Schnucks store, is a career grocer whose 40 years includes a string of awards and honors for customer service. 

Tom started his grocery career at Schnucks in 1969 while attending college and serving in the Army National Guard.  In 1985, he was tapped to manage Schnucks Arsenal where he served for most of his career.  For Tom, grocery is not just a career, it’s a calling. 

He sees his newest challenge downtown as an opportunity to meet new people and bond with them through food.  He explains, “I literally can’t wait to open that door and let our customers see what we have been working so hard on for the past year.” 

“This store is a truly unique operation and you really have to see and experience it to really understand its true value to the downtown community.  There is literally something for everyone at Culinaria.  There are products to fit every budget and services to match every lifestyle.”  And, of course, there’s Tom. “I can’t wait to shake hands with everyone that comes in that door and say ‘Welcome to Culinaria!’”

Nathan Eikermann

Co-Manager

Culinaria co-manager Nathan Eikerman was formerly co-manager at Schnucks Ladue.  Nathan grew up in Herman, Missouri and worked for a short time in a small grocery store.  He studied business at the University of Missouri-St. Louis but left to join Schnucks in 2001.  Nathan says, “I enjoy the fast pace of the urban lifestyle and watching St. Louis grow, starting with our new store!  As co-manager, I am in a great position to contribute new ideas on how we might best serve our urban customers, particularly our youth.   I plan to integrate customer ideas into the new store concept to ensure our growth here.”  Nathan lives in Kirkwood.  His hobbies include snow skiing, hunting and fishing.  He’s also a huge Cardinals fan.  “I went to the stadium during the All-Star event just to capture a feel for the excitement and to experience the energy and flow of people – that’s the kind of experience we hope to cook up here at Culinaria!”

Joe Brennecke

Perishable Manager

Joe Brennecke, perishable manager, has worked in the meat department at Schnucks for 33 years, most recently at Schnucks Woods Mill. At Culinaria, he will expand his responsibilities and take on meat, seafood, produce and floral. “Preparing Culinaria to open has been another great learning experience for me. Our industry is changing fast, and I see now that this store is our company’s answer to how we will meet the needs of our customers in a fast-paced, urban environment.” Joe is currently taking classes to enhance his expertise in seafood and floral. He’s getting a lot of ideas from his family which includes career Schnucks associates. His wife, Theresa, is deli clerk at the Schnucks Dillon store. The couple has two daughters and four grandchildren. Joe’s daughter, Jessica; is bakery manager at Schnucks Loughborough and his son-in-law, Chris Durney, is dairy frozen manager at Schnucks Hampton Village. The family home is in Catawissa, Missouri where Joe applies his skills in growing both flowers and vegetables.

Diane Auck

Preparred Food Manager

Expert Bio Coming Soon.

Bruce Marchi

Center Store Manager

Bruce Marchi is center store manager, and as the title suggests, he is responsible for everything that happens in the center of the store!  He started as a bagger in the Schnucks Concord Village store and moved on to oversee grocery, dairy and frozen foods.   Bruce studied business for a time at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, before deciding on the hands-on training of a career grocer.  Today, Bruce says he is anxious to get a handle on the newest technological innovations at Culinaria, which will allow for a more effective, if conventional, approach to grocery service. “I am a pioneer – the 'go to' guy for five different departments!  Culinaria’s new centralized system is perfect for this urban format because it offers a customized food shopping experience to meet every customer's needs.”  No doubt Bruce will receive plenty of advice from his brothers, Dennis (Schnucks Cape Girardeau) and Gary (Schnucks Affton).   Like Bruce, both are career grocers who receive high praise for their customer service skills.  Bruce and his wife, Jennifer; have two sons and last November, they adopted a six-year-old girl.  “Jennife and I started out as foster parents and that led to adoption.  Now, through a program with the division of family services, we continue to provide respite care for children in the foster system.”

Lisa Porta

Customer Service Manager

Expert Bio Coming Soon.

Kelly Ertmann

Pharmacy Manager

Culinaria pharmacist Kelly Ertmann started working at Schnucks Pharmacy in 1996 while she was a freshman attending the St. Louis College of Pharmacy.  Following graduation, she went to work at Schnucks Overland and is now looking forward to moving closer to her home in the city.  “We’re opening the first full-service pharmacy in the city in several years,” Kelly said.  “I feel as though I am getting in on the ground floor (no pun intended!) of something incredibly exciting!”  For all her excitement, you will have to wait a few weeks to actually meet Kelly as she and her husband, Pat, are preparing for another introduction!  Their first child is due in August.  “Staff pharmacist Heather Caldieraro, will take great care of our customers while I am gone,” Kelly said.  “Right now, we are working to stock the store with the same variety of medication you would find at one of our larger stores.” In addition to the new baby, Kelly and Pat are parents to two rescued beagles and two Australian Cattle dogs.  She laughed, “That doesn’t leave me much free time, but I enjoy baking and hope to do a bit of that while I am at home.”

Dan Loehr

Store Administrator

Dan Loehr is Culinaria’s store administrator.  He started out in 1990 as a bagger in our Schnucks Arsenal store.  He went to St. Louis University with a plan to study Biochemistry but opted to shift full-time into grocery as an assistant front-end manager and then on to grocery manager.  Dan says he is excited to be the company’s first store administrator, a new position designed to ensure that the store gets off on the right start, keeping track of supplies and product flow.  “My tracking will help to ensure that our customers have the products they need, when they need them.”  Like most Schnucks managers, Dan is food safety certified and is currently being cross-trained to help support services throughout the store.  He grew up near the Arsenal neighborhood, and is now a resident of Affton. Dan observes, “The atmosphere is really different – downtown is charged with excitement from people in constant motion!  In this environment, there will be more opportunity to focus on the needs of every customer and on building relationships.”