Among the shoppers at the Maplewood Christmas Tree Walk on Friday was a group of friends from the online community Yelp. The group met at Schlafly Bottleworks for a few drinks before checking out the shops in downtown Maplewood.

Yelp is a national website that gives local users the opportunity to review businesses they frequent. Abby Schwarz, the community manager for Yelp in St. Louis, said that friends who met through Yelp online are beginning to become friends offline as well. They like to get together for face-to-face fun.

"Most people who write reviews on the site are very passionate about St. Louis," Schwarz said. "So why not go out and actually experience cool events going on in the area?"

Schwarz organizes restaurant and shopping events for the community, and thought the Maplewood Christmas Tree Walk, with its emphasis on local shops, was perfect for a Yelp event.

Schwarz also hosted the Maplewood event to encourage everyone to take the "Yelp Shops Local" online pledge. She brought Yelp tote bags for the shoppers in her group, including Aimee Knebel, from the Central West End, who said she wanted to shop for Christmas presents during the walk.

John and Jill Luther, two Maplewood residents, are prolific Yelpers. They said Las Palmas, The Red Lion and The Post Sports Bar and Grill are among their favorite restaurants. They raved about the cheesesteak sandwich at the Post.

Trisha Posey, from the Central West End, said she discovered Maplewood through a previous Yelp event. She enjoyed the bars and "walkability" of downtown Maplewood.

Schwarz said this was Yelp's second event featuring Maplewood. In October, she organized a bar crawl—where they hit The Red Lion, Boogaloo and The Wood—to promote "Hot On Yelp!"

Schwarz said Maplewood is definitely "Yelpy."

"So many cute shops, restaurants, bars within walking distance," she said. "What's not to love about that?"