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Short Orders
[FOOD NEWS]
Midwest Lux
St. Louis-based Karl Bruce produces top-quality caviar that’s sourced from the Midwest
Written by CHERYL BAEHR
Chris Cochran insists that the origin story for St. Louisbased Karl Bruce caviar is not all that romantic. As the owners of the food consulting company Marginwise, Cochran and his business partner, Mark Schepker, were looking at the portfolio of clients one day and both came to the same conclusion: They were missing a luxury brand. Since creating brands was a main focus of their consulting business, they decided to launch one of their own rather than waiting for an already-existing one to approach them. Thinking of potential products readily available in the Midwest that might meet their requirements, they landed on caviar, found a world-class producer and dubbed their product Karl Bruce. It was a textbook brand-development endeavor that would hopefully round out their portfolio.
However, when you dig a little deeper into Karl Bruce, you understand that its roots and importance go much deeper than Cochran’s initial recounting. It’s named after his father, who passed away as they were interviewing potential producers and tasting the caviars that would define their brand. t was natural that Bruce would be such a guiding force; a man who loved food, wine and travel, he instilled those passions in Cochran, who would go on to culinary school and work for some of the country’s most renowned chefs, such as Charlie Palmer and Alice Waters.
Though he left the kitchen to get into the consulting side of the business, Cochran never left his chef’s mentality behind. Drawing upon his knowledge of caviar from his years in fine dining, ochran understood the art that
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Marginwise’s Karl Bruce caviar is produced locally. | COURTESY CHRIS COCHRAN
e caviar is sourced from Illinois and Iowa rivers. | COURTESY CHRIS COCHRAN
goes into its production, as well as the fact that truly outstanding caviar is not limited to the traditional big-name labels with caviar coming from Iran and Russia.
“To be caviar, it has to come from sturgeon,” Cochran explains. rom my fine-dining background, I knew there was sturgeon in the Mississippi River being harvested for caviar, so we started buying from as many producers as we could find to see who had the best product available. It’s really a craft process. Even if it’s the same fish, one producer’s product may taste a lot different based on how it’s processed. We found a producer who we firmly believe is making the best product in North America that is not farmed and figured we could build something that is beneficial to them and to us.”
As Cochran explains, the majority of caviar that comes from Mississippi River sturgeon gets processed and shipped off in bulk, where it is rebranded, repackaged and shipped off in smaller increments. As a result of this model, the small producers get paid relatively low prices for their wares. By cutting out the middle man and working directly with Karl Bruce, these independent processors will make significantly more for their caviar.
Cochran notes that they deserve the higher cut. A labor-intensive endeavor, the process of making caviar involves removing the eggs from the fish, then cleaning them with a sieve. The goal is to get the eggs as clean and individualized as possible: The cleaner the eggs, the less salt that has to be used in preserving the caviar, which allows for a more nuanced taste. ochran is confident arl ruce is an outstanding product. But it’s also attractive because it’s a Midwest success story. Because most of the product is sourced in Illinois, and in some cases Iowa, the money for the product stays in the region, rather than in less geopolitically attractive areas.
“A lot of caviar is farmed in either Uruguay or Argentina, where they do not use the most sustainable practices,” Cochran says. “Also, outside of farmed caviar, the best places to buy caviar from are Iran and Russia, neither of which you particularly want to send your dollars to. This is 100 percent North American, so the dollars stay here and support local fishermen and processors.
As for the quality of the product, ochran is confident that arl Bruce stacks up well against other luxury caviar brands, and he’s received a ringing endorsement that confirms his claim. ulrush chef and owner Rob Connoley has been so impressed with his initial experience that he’s continued to use it on his menu and has even agreed to provide a testimonial as to its quality.
For Cochran and Schepker, along with their partner Nate Litz, who only launched Karl Bruce a couple of week ago, that endorsement is confirmation that they have found a way to celebrate the bounty of what’s available in the Midwest beyond their expectations.
“This is really unique,” Cochran says. “I’ve been in the food business for a long time, and this is really great product.” n
Transformation
Iconic St. Louis Bosnian restaurant Grbic to close dining room, transition to events space on August 28
Written by CHERYL BAEHR
An iconic St. Louis restaurant is about to undergo a significant transformation: Grbic Restaurant (4071 Keokuk Street, 314-772-3100), the 30-year-old restaurant that introduced St. Louis diners to Bosnian cuisine, will close to the public on Sunday, August 28, to focus solely on the special-events side of its business. The Grbic family announced the closure in a Facebook post last week, assuring longtime guests that this is not a goodbye but simply a new way forward for the beloved restaurant.
“This morning, I was in a sad place, but then all of a sudden, my brain stopped me and was like, ‘No, no. What are you doing? You are going on to bigger and better things here,’” said chef and co-owner Senada Grbic. “I just got this new jolt of energy. I’m so sad to see this chapter ending, but I am so excited about this new chapter.”
As Grbic explained in both her post and to the Riverfront Times, she and her family have decided to wind down their restaurant operations so that they can devote themselves fully to their robust private-events business. For as long as they can remember, they have felt pulled in two different directions, dividing attention between their dining room and their banquets. Now, after a massive renovation of the private-events venue, they feel it is a good time to focus all of their attention to that one side of operations.
The changes are bittersweet for the entire Grbic family. After opening in Dutchtown in 1992, Grbic has become the most recognizable symbol of the Bosnian community’s impact on the St. Louis food scene, thanks to its warm hospitality and matriarch Ermina’s cooking, even though she was a reluctant participant at first. Senada Grbic recalls the day her dad, Sulejman, piled the entire family in their car and drove them to the building that would become Grbic, dropping it on her mom that he had bought a restaurant after years of her telling him not to. However, once Ermina realized it was a done deal, she devoted herself fully to making it a success, as did her children Senada, Ermin and the late Erna.
From day one, the restaurant was a family affair, with everyone playing an integral role in its success. It didn’t take long for the restaurant to become known as the place in town for Bosnian cuisine, and it enjoyed a loyal following and increasingly significant private-events business. Senada Grbic is proud of what her family has created, but she is not shy about saying how hard it has been. Between the dining room, events venue and patio, it’s not uncommon for them to be serving roughly 600 people at one time. It’s a high-pressure environment that can be intense for the family and the staff to navigate.
“We’re doing great business, and our employees are happy, but we want to make sure everyone stays happy, and we have to revisit our business model to do that,” Grbic says. “Plus, I’m ready to see my parents enjoy their life. The restaurant has been all-consuming because we are so hands on. We love the hustle and bustle of everything, but it’s consuming our lives, and we needed to make a change.”
Grbic had been toying around with this idea for several months, but she found the push she needed to take the leap from a very special person: her late sister, Erna, who passed away from cancer in 2019.
“I really feel like a lot of this is because of my sister’s guidance,” Grbic says. “She [wanted] to do this six or seven years ago, but we never thought we could get here. Recently, I found her notebooks with all of these notes about closing — what she would do and how. It really opened our minds to what’s possible. Plus, she really loved working events. I know it sounds funny, but working events always makes us feel closer to her. When I’m working a wedding, it’s like I can see her in the space and have these ‘What would Erna do?’ moments.”
Grbic notes that her parents are a big reason she and her brother, Ermin, decided to wind down the restaurant side of the business. Though both parents are getting older, they have been hesitant to walk away from the restaurant; this felt like the only way to convince them to retire. Senada Grbic laughs that they did not need much convincing; within a day or so after making the decision, her mom excitedly booked a ticket to Bosnia, something she did not have the luxury of doing in the past because of her restaurant obligations.
Grbic also feels that these changes are an important way forward for her and Ermin. For her part, she is eager to design new menus and build upon the foundation her mother has given her. She insists she is keeping her mom’s recipes and will continue to offer traditional Bosnian dishes, though she plans on making them more appropriate for an elevated banquet format. It’s a big change but one she is ready to take on.
“It doesn’t feel like an ending because this is truly what I have been wanting,” Grbic says. “I’m so excited to take on this new chapter and take everything my mom taught me and find a way to elevate it and incorporate it in a new way. I’m really looking forward to pushing myself and challenging myself. I have so much creative energy, and I am ready to unleash it.” n
Grbic restaurant has been a St. Louis institution since 1992. | ANDY PAULISSEN
[FOOD NEWS]
For Sale
Nick & Elena’s owners seek someone to carry on the Breckenridge Hills pizzeria’s tradition
Written by CHERYL BAEHR
Citing it as “one of the most difficult decisions we have ever made,” the owners of Nick & Elena’s are putting their restaurant up for sale. The news was announced on August 1 on the Pizza Connoisseurs of St. Louis Facebook page.
“We are in search of a buyer that will take over the place with the love and tradition,” the post reads. “We are looking for someone who absolutely loves our place and would carry on our good name and growing business. After 37 amazing years, the time has come.”
Over its nearly four decades in business, Nick & Elena’s has come to be considered one of the best examples of St. Louis-style pizza in the area. Known for a supremely flaky crust that strikes the perfect balance between thinness and enough heft to hold up to toppings, the Breckenridge Hills pizzeria is the gold standard of the form. Its sweet red sauce is a mouthwatering canvas for its fennel-kissed sausage, and its pizzas have exactly the right amount of Provel-style cheese — not so much that it weighs down and blends into the crust like pizza lasagna, but enough that it turns the sauce into a beautiful, orange-hued molten concoction. This superior product has given Nick & Elena’s legions of fans, and even garnered it a Riverfront Times Best of St. Louis award in 2019 for the area’s best St. Louis-style pizza.
With a loyal following that regularly packs its house and causes its phones to ring off the hook with carry-out and delivery orders, the pizzeria is one of the area’s most popular restaurants. The post did not reference an imminent closure date or say what would happen if no buyer comes forward. n
