No one could accuse the restaurant industry of stability. With razor-thin margins impacted by as little as weather changes (or plowing routes), even the hottest or most solid eatery can close at the drop of a hat.
Need proof? Just look to January’s restaurant closures. The Joe Edwards-owned Peacock Loop Diner shut its doors after a decade serving daytime staples. The restaurant posted on social media that it didn’t make sense to renew its lease. St. Charles mainstreet attraction Schlafly Bankside closed after its landlord declined to renew the brewpub’s lease, citing needed building improvements.
It’s not necessarily the end: “We look forward to an exciting new chapter in the St. Charles market in the future,” the brewery wrote in a Facebook statement.
In the Central West End, Take Root Hospitality shuttered casual taco spot Taqueria Morita after less than a year in what used to be Wasabi. Just down the street, Quarrelsome Coffee closed. The specialty coffee shop roasted beans fermented with brewery yeast from co-owner Mark Schwarz’s other business, Omega Yeast, which was recently acquired by AB Mauri North, the Food Business News reported. No word if that was the root cause.
In better news, some St. Louis staples expanded operations. University City’s New York-style pizzeria La Pizza opened a St. Charles location and Shaw’s vegan comfort food and bakery SweetArt opened in City Foundry’s Food Hall.
“I feel like there's this shift where I'm going to be able to create and grow this brand in a way that I'm proud of and be the type of leader and developer that people gravitate to, to learn from and to work for,” SweetArt owner Reine Keis said.
In Pagedale, Charles Culton opened the brick-and-mortar No Sauce BBQ, previously a food truck. As the name suggests, No Sauce serves all the sauce on the side because “that meat is so clean, you don't need no sauce,” Culton said.
He grew up watching his father barbecue in his three restaurants but this is Culton’s first venture. His menu includes burgers, sandwiches, breakfast aplenty and his personal favorite, his Whopper. That’s a 10 ounce burger on Texas toast topped with cheese and all the fixings.
“Everything is good, everything is great,” he said. “Come in and try out our food.”
Openings
- 7 Brew Coffee, Kirkwood
- K&J Donuts, Chesterfield
- La Pizza, St. Charles
- Pop Pop Hurray, Midtown (City Foundry)
- No Sauce BBQ, Pagedale
- Peacemaker Lobster & Crab/4 Hands Brewing, St. Louis County (St. Louis Lambert Airport)
- The Garden, Ferguson
- Flight Club, Clayton
- Rachel’s Sidebar, Belleville
- SweetArt Too, Midtown (City Foundry)
Closings
- Dado’s Cafe, St. Louis Hills
- Drake’s Place, Ferguson (temporary after fire)
- In Da Loop, University City
- Table to Table, Maplewood
- Taqueria Morita, Central West End
- The Reserve on Olive, Creve Coeur
- Peacock Loop Diner, University City
- Simply Delicious, Downtown
- Quarrelsome Coffee, Central West End
- Schlafly Bankside, St. Charles
Did I miss anything? Let me know at jrogen@stlpr.org.
