The St. Louis gangster, Tony Scarpelli owned the Club Plantation. The club operated as a set-ups nightclub, meaning they sold food and provided ice, soft drinks, and glasses and the customers brought their own liquor. This way they could stay open later than the 1 o’clock curfew for taverns. A liquor law work-around. Club Plantation, a racially segregated club located in the historic Palladium building near Grand Avenue that served only white patrons, while utilizing Black performers like Dizzie Gillespie. Its advertisements were as racially insensitive as its name, and its owners would force its Black performers to enter through the back and not be allowed to interact with the white audience – while their music made the club one of the hottest night spots in St. Louis.