St. Louis is a town with an outsize share of award-winning and iconic barbecue institutions, so acclaimed chef Gerard Craft knew it didn’t make sense to try to compete.
“Barbecue itself in St. Louis is such a big deal,” the James Beard award winner said. “People come in with high expectations.”
So instead, Craft’s Niche Food Group is charting its own path with its foray into barbecue. Expat, officially open Sept. 12 at City Foundry, is like taking close-to-home barbecue techniques on an international trip.
“This is straight-up American barbecue through the eyes of an expat,” he explained. “Imagine you were living in another country and missing your ribs from home, and you went to the store to get all the ingredients for your recipe, and you had to make those swaps, you had to change out the spices for the spices they had available, or the sweeteners they had available.”
The concept, he said, involves fare that doesn’t taste like anything else on menus in St. Louis. That allows Expat’s menu to stand alongside restaurants in town he’d rather not consider competition.
“[We’re] in our own lane here,” he said. “It's an entirely unique flavor because of that, and I think it's a lot of fun.”
Expat is the first sit-down, full-service restaurant in the Midtown development complex and has capacity for more than 300 guests at a time. It’s the fourth concept for Niche within City Foundry, joining None of the Above, an underground speakeasy-style cocktail bar, and Fordo’s Killer Pizza and Kitchen Bar in the Foundry Food Hall, which Craft helped the Lawrence Group develop.
Craft said he was excited about the Foundry and wanted to help make it work.
“It is such a massive project that's really such an important connector to all the neighborhoods in this area,” he said. “You know, we love it here. And so, you know, we want to help it thrive.”
Although it’s taken years to develop it into Expat, Craft said he admired its space inside the Foundry for some time.
He hopes the space helps it stand out among other barbecue spots: The main floor features a traditional restaurant dining room, while the top floor is occupied by a large bar, patio and live music lounge, with self-service kiosks for a more fast-casual dining experience.
“I think we offer a lot of different angles that aren't really out there,” he said.
He’s brought St. Louis native Sam Nawrocki back home to head up the kitchen. The executive chef explains that she believes the warm welcome from the local barbecue community has helped shape Expat.
“People are always thinking that barbecue people have ‘my top secret rub,’ ‘my top secret recipe,’ but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” she said. “Everyone in the barbecue community has been so kind and generous, helping us hone our recipes and giving us advice.”
She’s worked in kitchens in Portland, Charleston and Nashville but said that St. Louis stands out for being collaborative rather than competitive.
“The joy, like actual joy, people take in other people's success is really cool,” she added, also praising the restaurant staff’s teamwork and diverse strengths.
Expat makes 10 establishments currently under the Niche umbrella in St. Louis (plus one in Nashville). That’s after opening None of the Above in December and relaunching the fast-casual Italian spot Porano Pasta in Des Peres over the summer.
“This is our third opening this year, and which I don't recommend, by the way, in case anybody was wondering,” he said with a laugh.
But the year wasn’t only full of growth.
It also included the closures of BrassWELL, a burger stand within Rockwell Beer Co., and Cinder House, an upscale Brazilian restaurant at the top of the Four Seasons in the space now occupied by Gordon Ramsay’s Ramsay’s Kitchen.
“Every single day we're evaluating our systems, evaluating our food, coming in and tasting our food, reading our reviews, trying to just keep pushing,” he said. “I think that's what it takes to make a great restaurant.”
Craft, who also curates City Park’s local restaurant offerings as its “Flavor Officer,” is well aware of the additional attention on him when a Niche spot opens or closes.
“I definitely feel that pressure,” he said, adding that it’s felt by the entire Niche team. “We always feel the weight of St. Louis and wanting to do St Louis proud and wanting to do great things.”
Expat may be based on a story of travel, but Craft said he’s thankful to call St. Louis home for the past two decades and feels lucky that St. Louisans continue to embrace his restaurants.
“I love this city,” he said. “I try to spread that all around the country, all around the world.”
