8 minute read
Short Orders
27
[FOOD NEWS]
Second Helping
Guerrilla Street Food will open with new owners, location this fall
Written by BENJAMIN SIMON
Five months after closing, Guerilla Street Food will open again later this fall — this time with new owners.
Joel Crespo and Brian Hardesty, who owned the business for 11 years and oversaw its journey from one of the city’s most beloved food trucks to a St. Louis staple for Filipino food, announced on September 30 that they have sold the Guerilla Street Food brand.
Their business will belong to new owners Rachel and Arnold Alcantara. The couple plans to open the restaurant in a new location, with an official announcement coming after they finalize lease negotiations.
The couple will take over the business as they settle down in St. Louis after their move from Hawaii. Arnold, who was born and raised in Hawaii, has worked in the restaurant business for over a decade with experience as a chef. The couple plans to continue Guerilla Street Food classics like the Flying Pig and Chicken Adobo while adding their own touch.
“They seemed like a really good fit to continue on Guerilla Street Food,” Hardesty says, “to continue doing Filipino American food but also add a little bit of Hawaiian flair to things as well, which I think is extremely exciting. I think both cuisines are very much underrepresented in St. Louis.”
Hardesty says the couple’s “eagerness” stood out to him — reminding the Guerilla Street Food owners of themselves, back in 2011.
“When we created Guerilla Street Food, we were just two friends who wanted to make food that we cared about and we felt could really service the area,”
Arnold Alcantara, Rachel Alcantara, Joel Crespo and Briand Hardesty. | COURTESY BRIAN HARDESTY
Hardesty says. “At the time, there was no Filipino food being sold. We were very excited when we got started. … That’s the vibe I get from Rachel and Arnold. They are putting everything out there to make their dream come true.”
Crespo and Hardesty opened the business over a decade ago as a food truck. One of the first in the area, it became popular in St. Louis. The business expanded throughout the region, with its first brick-and-mortar building opening in Tower Grove in 2015. Over the years, they expanded to five restaurants before scaling back to one location in Webster Groves by 2022.
In April, Crespo and Hardesty announced that they would shut down the restaurant and food truck with the hopes of finding a new buyer.
Despite selling the business, Crespo and Hardesty don’t plan to walk away just yet. They will continue to serve as advisers to the Alcantaras during this new chapter of Guerilla Street Food.
“I don’t think it’s bittersweet at all,” Hardesty says. “It’s nothing but sweet. It’s pretty awesome to see this happening and to see it continue and to see these people that we trust to carry it on [with] their excitement. I just feel nothing but positivity.” n
[FOOD NEWS]
Dine for Your Rights
PROMO’s Brunch of Champions raises funds for LGBTQ+ rights
Written by CHERYL BAEHR
Robert Fischer, director of communications for the LGBTQ+ advocacy nonprofit PROMO, sees the organization’s upcoming Brunch of Champions as a fun way to celebrate the region’s queer community and its allies. But more importantly, he emphasizes just how vital this annual fundraiser is to the fight for equality in Missouri.
“The profits from ticket sales and sponsorships go directly toward funding urgent legislative efforts in Missouri,” Fischer explains. “For instance, in 2022, the Missouri legislature introduced a lot of bills attacking LGBTQ+ Missourians, especially transgender children. Together with our allies, we were able to defeat those attacks this year and in 2020 and 2021. This event is really pivotal for us to be able to continue the work and advocate for equality.”
PROMO’s annual Brunch of Champions, which happens this Sunday, October 16, at 4 Hands Brewery from 9:30 a.m. until noon, is a major fundraising source for the organization, which was founded in 1986 (originally called PREP) in response to a Missouri Supreme Court decision supporting Missouri’s Sexual Misconduct Law. Since then, the nonprofit has been a fierce advocate for LGBTQ+ Missourians as it carries out its mission “to confront systemic inequities to liberate the full spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination and oppression.”
However, as much as Brunch of Champions provides vital funding that allows PROMO to continue its work, this Sunday’s festivities are also a way to take
Enjoy food from Honey Bee’s Biscuits + Good Eats in support of PROMO. | MABEL SUEN
Quite the Teas
Boba B!tch brings mobile boba tea and sass to St. Louis
Written by CHERYL BAEHR
For a decade, Jefferson County native Franklin Killian lived in Los Angeles, where he wrote film scripts, acted in television shows and gave very little thought to boba tea other than wondering why kids seemed to be lining up around the block to get a taste of the tapioca-laden Taiwanese beverage. However, as he watched it turn from niche drink to bona fide trend, he got curious, then hooked and started to seek it out both around A and any time he’d come back to the St. ouis area to visit family. hen illian moved back to St. Louis in 2020, he was struck by how few boba shops there were and couldn’t help but feel he was meant to do something about it. What that looked like, he wasn’t quite sure, so he told his wife he was going to marinate on his ideas for a year, then take some steps if he was still enthusiastic about it.
Now, nearly two years later, illian is bopping around town in his mobile boba tea trailer, oba tch. Though he admits the
BRUNCH OF CHAMPIONS
Continued from pg 27
time out to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and its allies with good food, drink and merriment. To that end, guests will be treated to a mimosa toast upon arrival and will then continue to the main events space where they will enjoy food from Honey Bee’s Biscuits + Good Eats, beer from 4 Hands Brewing and cocktails from 1220 Spirits. Fischer notes that, although the event has been more of a black-tie affair in year’s past, this Sunday’s Brunch of Champions is a lessformal, community-focused event.
“We won’t have the typical assigned tables you’d see at a fundraiser,” Fischer says. “There is more community seating so you can sit with those you know, but we also encourage people to sit with those they didn’t come with to gain connection and learn from other people’s lived experiences.”
In addition to food and drinks, attendees will be treated to an address by PROMO’s executive director, Katy Erker-Lynch, and have a front-row seat as the organization honors Gary Mudd of Doorways, State Representatives Ashley Bland-Manlove and Rasheen Aldridge and two medical professionals, all of whom have dedicated themselves to championing equality in Missouri.
“Brunch of Champions is a way for us to uplift the incredible work that individuals and organizations do on a daily basis, because there are so many wonderful organizations that fight for equality,” Fischer says. “Sometimes, we all feel like we are alone, but really, there are so many fighting for equality.”
Tickets to Brunch of Champions are $100 and can be purchased at promoonline.org. n
Franklin Killian is excited to bring a fun and delicious boba tea experience to St. Louis. | COURTESY BOBA B!TCH
name is intentionally cheeky and designed to grab attention, at its heart, the brand is about pure, high- uality recipes he hopes people will come back for time and again.
“I’m approaching this the way I do when writing scripts Instead of having 100 drinks or chasing trends, I’m going to work my ass off on different recipes,” illian says. “I’m going to give it to someone, and they aren’t going to want to customize it they’re going to come back for that staple drink. Of course, I want it to look sexy, but it has to be delicious more than anything.”
As passionate as illian is about making oba tch a vibrant, recognizable brand, he is even more committed to serving high- uality boba tea. He makes all of his syrups from scratch and uses fresh, organic fruits, organic whole milk, organic brown sugar syrup and caramel, and homemade cream cheese salted caramel mousse for the drinks.
“It doesn’t taste like a damn cereal box,” illian says with a laugh.
As serious as he is about the recipes, illian is e ually dedicated to making sure his guests have a good time. rawing upon his experience in the entertainment industry, illian brings a showmanship to oba tch, shaking his drinks in front of guests and engaging with his customers to create an energy around the brand. So far, it’s worked. illian sold out at several festivals around town this summer, though he prefers the small-scale interaction to the crowds at larger events.
“If I can engage and chat with people and find out what is going on in their lives, that’s so much better than just a factory-style line where I am trying to cut down the line uickly, “ illian says. “That may be more money, but the engagement just isn’t there.”
Though he has a few successful outings under his belt, he is not
yet ready to take things to a different level. He’s been approached about opening a brick-and-mortar location, but for now, that’s not part of his plan, as he does not want to move things too uickly. He’s just focused on getting people obsessed with his boba tea and building buzz that, for him, is worth much more than anything a storefront could offer.
“ hat everyone wants is hype, and that’s something you can’t buy,” illian says. “If you don’t have that, you don’t have anything, no matter how much money you have. That’s something I learned in A.” n
