ST. LOUIS – On March 10, Marbob Drive in south St. Louis County was full of restoration crews helping to clean up more than a dozen homes after a sewer backup.

Denise Asher-Snyder could hardly believe the destruction.

“This happened on a beautiful day. It was, what, 70 degrees? Friday, blue skies, sunny. It was perfect” she said at the time.

More than two weeks later, she’s still reeling.

“My dryer is gone. That is what’s left of my bathroom,” Asher-Snyder said.

Earlier this month, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District officials told FOX 2 News the backup was caused by grease getting into the wastewater line.

“We pulled about three buckets out of the 400-foot reach of eight-inch line. That is far more than it would take to block up a line that size,” Sean Stone, MSD Project Clear, said on March 10.

Stone said inspectors would visit a nearby stretch restaurants on South Lindbergh to investigate.

“If we can find out who’s responsible for this, we’re going to hold them accountable in any way that we can,” Stone said.

FOX 2 requested records from MSD detailing the restaurant inspections.

On March 11, MSD issued “Notice of Grease Interceptor Violations” to Lion’s Choice and Bartolino’s South. According to the reports, the inspector found the restaurant’s grease interceptors were not being properly maintained or serviced. At Bartolino’s South, the inspector also noted the public sewer was blocked as a result of excessive grease discharges from the facility.”

“We take it very seriously,” Bartolino’s South co-owner Michael Saracino said about the violations. “As long as you maintain your trap, then it should prevent any problems, at least that’s what we thought.”

Saracino shared invoices with FOX 2 dating back to 2023 from a company he says the restaurant hired to clean and maintain its grease traps. The invoices indicate the traps were cleaned six times in 2023 and five times last year.

The first cleaning of 2025 happened March 13, after the neighborhood backup. MSD tells us it requires grease traps not exceed 60% capacity. MSD says most restaurants remain compliant with a quarterly cleaning, but the exact frequency depends on how much grease each establishment generates. Prior to the backups, MSD says it inspected the restaurants every two years. Now, MSD says it will inspect them quarterly.

“We’re going to abide by their recommendations and do what is right. That’s all we can do,” Saracino said. “We’re here in business to be good neighbors and to make people happy. We’re a hospitality business, and that’s what we thrive on.”

“It’s important to us what our neighbors think of us,” Fred Burmer, CEO of Lion’s Choice, said. Burmer says grease traps at his company’s restaurants are cleaned twice as frequently as is recommended.

“We’ve been in contact with MSD just to make sure we didn’t have anything to do with it, and we’ve been assured of that,” he said.

Denise Asher-Snyder tells us getting answers helps, but action will be what helps the residents of Marbob Drive heal.

“Not until we are reimbursed for this mess. Then I will have peace of mind. I’m not going to have peace of mind until this done,” Asher-Snyder said.

MSD says its insurance administrator is working with affected residents on coverage for cleanup and damages. An MSD representative tells FOX 2 that public sewers in the neighborhood are being placed on an increased cleaning schedule. MSD says it also plans to pursue cost recovery from the parties responsible to minimize the financial impact on its customers.