City Foundry STL (3730 Foundry Way, St. Louis, MO 63108) announced The Food Hall at City Foundry STL will open its doors on Wednesday, August 11 as part of its initial opening plan. There will be 11 kitchens to start including: Good Day, Kalbi Taco Shack, Turmeric Street Style, Patty’s Cheesecakes, Buenos Aires Cafe, Press Waffle Co., Hello Poke, and Poptimism STL including two new kitchen concepts, Sub Division Sandwich Co. and Chez Ali. Just announced today, James Beard winner Gerard Craft’s Niche Food Group will develop the central bar concept, The Kitchen Bar.
The over 300,000-square-foot City Foundry STL is a place for the community with a curated mix of restaurants, entertainment spaces, shops, offices, and more in the heart of Midtown St. Louis. Located near the Cortex Innovation Community and St. Louis University, The Food Hall is a flagship attraction for the development, which will also include: 107,000 square feet of office space for tenants such as Great Rivers Greenway, Deli Star Food Discovery Center, ISee Innovations, and more. Anticipated openings include: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Fresh Thyme Market, 18 Rails, and Fassler Hall.
The 30,000-square-foot Food Hall at City Foundry STL will ultimately feature 20 open kitchens averaging 500 square feet with a lineup of notable international eats and first-to-the-area food vendors. Niche Food Group’s Kitchen Bar will be located at the center of the space and serve as a neighborhood bar for the surrounding community. Melinda Cooper, bar manager at Craft’s Brasserie by Niche concept, will be developing the approachable menu featuring classic cocktails, wines by the glass, and local beers. A large metal tank recovered from the historic foundry has been repurposed to serve as a central tap system for over eight local beers at the 28-seat bar.
Will Smith of City Foundry STL says, “The Food Hall at City Foundry is the first of its kind in St. Louis. By the end of this year, we’ll have introduced several new eateries to St. Louis while providing a space for guests to taste what makes this city great: diverse culture and hard-working and talented people. Visitors will not only be able to taste unique culinary dishes, but also experience art with all five senses at City Foundry.”
For the design, The Food Hall preserved many of the industrial features of the original century-old Federal-Mogul manufacturing foundry. The City Foundry STL team reconstructed the building’s original butterfly roof, and guests can look up to discover formerly-used equipment which now compliments the modern aesthetic as art for the space. “If it was larger than three inches, we kept it in the space,” says Smith.
City Foundry STL’s Food Hall plans to be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours since the open kitchens serve a wide variety of cuisines including Senegalese (Chez Ali), Indian (Turmeric Street Style), Argentinian (Buenos Aires Cafe), and Asian Fusion (Kalbi Taco Shack). Guests will also find poke bowls from Hello Poke, sandwiches from Sub Division Sandwich Co., and desserts from Patty’s Cheesecakes, Press Waffle Co., and Poptimism STL.
Susie Bonwich, daughter of respected former food writer and restaurant critic Joe Bonwich, will be serving as Director of Operations of The Food Hall for City Foundry STL. “I’m excited to bring the Bonwich name back into the St. Louis food scene and be involved with such an innovative, passionate community of chefs,” she expressed. “The restaurant partners coming to City Foundry are bringing to life their newest and biggest ideas in a culture hub at the heart of the city. Each kitchen will continue to evolve after the initial opening, so guests can expect new discoveries upon every visit.”
Scheduled to open throughout September and October, the next round of openings will feature four additional eateries, which will make a total of 15 open kitchens and 400 seats for guests to enjoy their eats inside of the Food Hall or grab-and-go to enjoy at home.
