Short Orders

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SHORT ORDERS

e Village Bar is a St. Louis Standard if there ever was one. About 140 years old, the Des Peres dive bar has held onto its character, even as Manchester has changed all around it. | ANDY PAULISSEN

[ST. LOUIS STANDARDS]

It Takes a Village

Village Bar marks 140 years with plans to add a distillery, event space and more

Written by CHERYL BAEHR

John Forrest remembers being struck by a particular kind of phone call he got when he first started working at the Village Bar (12247 Manchester Road, Des Peres; 314-821-4532) about six years ago. Unlike other hospitality gigs, it wasn’t uncommon for the longtime Des Peres tavern to be asked to host funeral luncheons. Initially, it seemed like a peculiar phenomenon, but it didn’t take long for him to realize why these were such common requests.

“People would call up and tell us that this is where their dad had his first beer, and it was also where he had his last,” Forrest says. “When you’ve been around for 140 years, you get a lot of calls like that.”

The Village Bar may be the “Cheers” of Des Peres, but it’s far from the only institution of its type in the St. Louis metro area. Neighborhoods throughout the city are filled with watering holes, bars and grills, and longtime independent restaurants that mean much more to their patrons than a place to grab something to eat or drink. Weave these establishments together with the iconic restaurants, bars and dishes that have come to represent the city’s food and beverage community and you get an impressive — if not a little well-worn — fabric that tells us who we are.

Throughout my eight years as the RFT’s dining critic, I’ve been asked numerous questions over and over about the gig. Where is your favorite restaurant? Are you anonymous? We have people coming in from out of town — where should we take them to eat? However, the one query that’s always struck me is when I’m asked why we don’t spend more time and effort covering established places. Whereas so much space is spent talking about the shiny new things, there tends to be little room dedicated to the people and places who’ve been going about the business of operating their bars and restaurants for a long time. In an industry where it’s more common to fail than succeed within the first couple of years, that staying power is a feat that deserves to be celebrated, not just for their sheer endurance, but because they are a living history that tells the story of our metropolitan area.

In this spirit, we’re excited to launch St. Louis Standards, a weekly column dedicated to the people, places and dishes that make our food scene what it is. We’ll feature icons, of course, but we’ll also be shining a light on the establishments that might not be known outside their immediate community — but are, for their regulars, the center of the universe.

The Village Bar is one of those

Burgers and beers have soothed generations of regulars. | ANDY PAULISSEN

[MEATS]

A Fine Swine Reopens as a Food Truck

Written by CHERYL BAEHR

Late last year, it appeared that A Fine Swine BBQ (afineswinebbq. com) was to be another casualty of the pandemic when owner David Stidham shuttered both his New Baden and Mt. Vernon restaurants. Now, the brand is getting a new lease on life as a food truck and catering outfit thanks to the new Metro East restaurant incubator Soucial Kitchen.

The barbecue brand will begin operating as part of Soucial Kitchen this June, serving up the award-winning smoked meats Stidham has perfected during his time on the competition circuit. To do so, he’s converted an old box truck into a mobile smoker that will allow him to offer A Fine Swine’s most popular items, as well as new pitmaster specials.

Described as a “mobile cloud kitchen” or ghost kitchen, Soucial Kitchen is the brainchild of retired Brigadier General John E. Michel, who launched a similar operation in Arkansas. Part culinary incubator and part social enterprise, A Soucial Kitchen serves as a commercial kitchen space for affiliated trucks and also has a retail component that allows guests to order takeout or delivery.

Soucial Kitchen is also focused on reducing food insecurity through its pay-it-forward meal donation program called Currency of Caring, which allows guests of the food trucks to buy meal tokens for those in need. Those who purchase the tokens can give them out, and the recipients can redeem them for a free meal at any Soucial Kitchenaffiliated restaurant.

In addition to A Fine Swine, other brands operating out of Soucial Kitchen include El Guacqo Taco, Neo’s Wood-Fired Pizza, NashVegas Fried Chicken and Minuteman Hamburgers. The plan is for all the trucks who have committed to being a part of Soucial Kitchen to be up and running by June.

As for A Fine Swine, Stidham is not waiting for June to get back to business. He is already booking food-truck locations and catering orders. To see where you can get your first taste of his mobile ’cue, visit afineswinebbq.com. n

A Fine Swine BBQ is back, serving its ‘cue from a food truck. | COURTESY A FINE SWINE BBQ

A new distillery on the property will soon make it even more of a destination. | ANDY PAULISSEN

places. Not a hole-in-the-wall by any stretch of the imagination, the tavern’s sheer staying power has made it a multigenerational center of the Des Peres community, even before Des Peres existed. As owner Mark Disper likes to point out, the bar was established roughly four years before the municipality was incorporated, getting its start in 1872 as the area’s post office and general store. t that time Manchester was a dirt road, and the building provided food, liquor, feed and hardware to westward travelers.

The outfit became a bar following Prohibition and has remained one ever since. Though it’s changed hands over the years, its essential character has not — that’s one of the reasons Disper felt it was so important to preserve when he bought it in 2016. Prior to that, he’d been a patron of the bar and heard rumors that there was a possibility it was being sold to Schnucks to be leveled and turned into a grocery store. He couldn’t let that happen.

“It’s important to preserve the heritage and memories for the next generation,” Disper says. “You just can’t remake a dive bar like this.” ince ta ing over the bar five years ago, Disper has done a good job balancing preservation with needed updates, cleaning up the bar’s outside environs and rehabbing the adjacent farmhouse that is now part of the Village Bar complex. His biggest project, however, is the rehab of the old barn that sits on the property, which he and his business partners are making the base of their soon-to-launch distillery, 1879 Distilling Company.

The project, which Disper hopes will begin operations in the coming months, has involved a massive renovation of the space, using reclaimed and historic components from around the St. Louis area. Once it’s up and running, the distillery will not only make highquality spirits, it will also serve as a new events space. This, together with the forthcoming tasting room being set up in the old farmhouse, will make the Village Bar complex a destination for much more than its famous burgers, onion rings and ice-cold beer.

Still, Forrest, who is now the Village Bar’s general manager, is confident that the essential character of the place will remain, even as the distillery will be a significant addition to the overall complex. It’s already shown that it can be an unwavering presence amidst change; pointing to Des Peres’ sixteen banks, numerous strip malls and urgent care centers, he believes the reason the tavern has been so successful is because it’s been confident enough in its own identity to stay true to itself, even if that means a little old, scrappy and well-worn. That charm, he says, is what keeps his regulars coming back.

“It’s got marks and scars,” Forrest says. “Everyone gets beat up after 140 years, right?” n

Steve’s Hot Dogs Moving to Mangia Space

Written by CHERYL BAEHR

Fans of Steve’s Hot Dogs (3457 Magnolia Avenue, 314-9325953) will soon be getting their tubular meat fix at a different spot. teve wing’s beloved hot dog restaurant is moving from its Tower Grove East location to outh Grand, in the left-side storefront of the former Mangia Italiano. Though no concrete date has been set, the move will ta e place in a few months. ounded on the ill in , teve’s ot ogs opened its Tower Grove ast restaurant, connected to Tic Toc Tavern, in as a second location. ive years later, wing shuttered the ill spot and focused exclusively on serving his loyal guests out of the Tower Grove East storefront. In a release announcing the move, wing says the restaurant has been growing out of the current digs for some

[MORE MEATS]

BEAST Butcher & Block Resumes Barbecue

Written by CHERYL BAEHR

The air of the Grove is again filled with the smell of sweet smoke as BEAST Butcher & Block (4156 Manchester Avenue, 314-944-6003) has reopened its smokehouse for barbecue service.

The acclaimed restaurant, owned by David and Meggan Sandusky, paused its barbecue service this February in response to challenges presented by the pandemic. With its dining room shuttered (the Sanduskys chose to offer only carryout and delivery out of an abundance of caution), operating at full capacity became financially unsustainable. In order to weather the COVID-19 storm, the Sanduskys closed the barbecue side of the operation to focus on the butchery and a sandwich pop-up. However, as Sandusky explains, demand for his famous ’cue continued to be so robust that he and Meggan decided it was time to give the people what they want.

“We’ve been fortunate to create an exceptional following for the sandwiches from the butcher shop, but the people have spoken,” Sandusky says. “They want barbecue back, and it’s time to give it to them.”

Though the restaurant had switched to full table service before the pandemic, it has reopened with a fast-casual format. Guests can either order at the counter or from QR codes at their tables. Sandwiches will still be available, but, as Sandusky notes, the barbecue will be the focus.

“The menu will retain the more popular sandwiches we’ve recently created but will focus on what made us famous — badass barbecue with carefully sourced animals,” Sandusky says. “You’ll find everything a la carte for now like you’d expect from a local meat market.”

The restaurant will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. The butcher shop will continue to operate Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. n

Steve’s Hot Dogs is moving to the former Mangia Italiano. | SARA BANNOURA

time now but he was loo ing for the right place that would eep the brand connected to the Tower Grove ast neighborhood that has come to support it over the past six years.

The former Mangia Italiano proved to be that spot. fter the longtime outh Grand restaurant shuttered this past ecember as a result of the C - pandemic, wing saw that it could be the perfect place to set up shop. The new storefront will double the restaurant’s dining room space and allow for a stage and full bar. The restaurant’s iconic Wayne t. Wayne mural will also be staying in place. We’re loo ing forward to this new chapter, wing said in his announcement. Than you, fam, for helping us bounce bac and grow uic er than we ever could have imagined We can’t wait to share this new space with you n