Short Orders

[ST. LOUIS STANDARDS]

Written by CHERYL BAEHR

When Kevin McKernan thinks back on his happiest childhood memories, the ones involving Donut Drive-In stand out the most vividly. On certain weekdays, he and his mom would head to the south-city doughnut shop — him rolling up on his big wheel — grab a couple of vanilla long johns and head to the nearby Francis Park for some quality time. It was such a simple outing, but it felt so special.

“I remember going up there with my mom and my dog after kindergarten,” McKernan recalls. “I had other siblings, but they were older and in school all day, so this was the time I had my mom all to myself. It’s one of my happiest memories. Everyone who grew up in St. Louis has their own little doughnut shop, and that was mine.”

A few decades later, McKernan can’t believe he is now the one in charge of keeping those memories alive at such a beloved institution. Since last year, he’s been the owner of the St. Louis Hills mainstay, where he sees himself as more of a steward than a proprietor of the 68-year-old shop. It’s a role he never thought he’d assume. A teacher by trade, McKernan got interested in business around the time he opened the Improv Shop in the Grove in 2009. That dip into entrepreneurship piqued his interest in other opportunities, and he would regularly check business brokerage sites to see what was out there. One day, he came across a posting that he assumed was for Donut Drive-In, and he knew he had to act.

“I thought, ‘Oh my god, that’s Donut Drive-In; I can’t let anything happen to Donut Drive-In.’ It’s just too big of an institution,” McKernan says. “I started talking to my wife to see if we could swing it to make sure it keeps going. We met the owner, who was selling it because he was retiring, and told him that we wouldn’t change it.”

McKernan has stayed true to his word, keeping everything exactly as it’s always been at the nearly seven-decades-old shop and staying out of the way of the longtime employees who serve as a living history of the place. At this point, that’s the best window into its past he has, since much of Donut Drive-In’s origin story has gotten lost over the years. What McKernan does know — and what he stresses is passed down by oral tradition and not confirmed by any records he’s come across — is that the shop was built in 1953 by Wachter, Inc., a construction company that built several of the little white doughnut shops scattered around the city. From what McKernan has gathered, the owner of Wachter left the shop to his daughter, who was married to a man named John Harter; to the best of his knowledge, the two of them ran it for a while before selling it at some point to Thomas Charleville, then-owner of Thomas Coffee Company. Charleville was at the helm until 1996, when he sold it to the Schwartz family, who ran several St. Louis-area Dunkin’ Donuts and operated Donut Drive-In until selling it to McKernan last year.

“To me, swooping something up a year ago is less cool than the people who have dedicated years

of their lives to that place that know what they are doing,” McKernan says. “My piece is so much smaller than the people who run the place and work hard. It’s a 600-square-foot building; everything is done in-house, and it’s tough. It’s a lot of work, and the people who’ve worked there for decades are happy and still going along for the ride with me. I’m so thankful for that, because they are the rock stars.”

McKernan is clear that the longtime employees who’ve stuck with Donut Drive-In through the years are the key to its success. However, he also believes that the place wouldn’t be what it is without its outstanding namesake product, which, to his knowledge, hasn’t changed at all since the shop opened nearly seven decades ago. The recipes remain the same, and the bakers still hand-cut all of the doughnuts — a necessary technique because the tiny workspace precludes mechanical equipment. Those two factors, combined with the impressive skill of the bakers, mean the doughnuts are consistent, so that customers can count on the same quality time and again.

But for McKernan, the unquantifiable things make Donut DriveIn so special. Whether it’s putting smiley faces on the long johns for kids on the weekends or watching parents walk away hand in hand with their little ones, he and his team see their place at the shop as more than a job; they feel that they are preserving a little piece of St. Louis history — one apple fritter at a time.

“We can never make enough of those apple fritters, and it’s cool to have a thing that people are excited about,” says McKernan. “This may sound ridiculous, but when people get an apple fritter, they are so authentically happy. It’s just a random thing in someone’s day, but you can tell it means something. It’s just a little thing and a treat, but when they get it, you can tell what it means to them. It’s pretty cool to be part of that.” n

[OPENINGS]

Written by HOLDEN HINDES

Following much anticipation, the Food Hall at City Foundry is now open. Situated in Midtown between Cortex and Saint Louis University — where much of the patronage is expected to come from — it’s one of several projects inside the expansive, mixed-use development. Currently, eleven restaurants are open for business, with more set to open soon.

The space itself is high-ceilinged and industrial, but far from sterile. Plantwrapped columns rise from the centers of tables, and patches of glass reveal spots of colorful brickwork along the concrete floor. Plus, each restaurant brings its own character. Clean, artsy and minimalist; brassy and industrial; a sign full of lightbulbs that says “WAFFLES”; an eight-foot-tall painting in comic-book style of a bright red dragon holding several tacos — it’s all there.

That individual character does not just apply to the decor. Assorted cuisines are represented in the restaurants, some for the first time and some that St. Louisians will be familiar with. Amy Guo and Dan Jensen, known for their food truck Sando Shack, finally have the restaurant they came to St. Louis to open — Hello Poke — which serves poke bowls. Another established brand, Turmeric, follows the success of its Delmar Loop location with a “Street Style” spinoff at the Food Hall, serving more casual fare inspired by Indian street food.

Another well-known spot is the beloved Kalbi Taco Shack, formerly of Cherokee Street, which has relocated to the Food Hall. Owner Sue Wong Shackelford is excited about moving into the new space. “It’s better late than never,” she says with a smile, nodding to the delays the project has faced, including those caused by COVID-19. Now, though, she is focused on being part of building such an exciting piece of the city’s food scene. She appreciates the new community as well.

“I love being a part of the whole group of kitchens, and knowing the other chefs,” Wong Shackelford says. “Everybody gets along, we’re all friendly, helping each other — that’s what it’s all about.”

Other food options include Buenos Aires Cafe, Chez Ali and Subdivision, a former pandemic-inspired sandwich pop-up from the owners of the Bellwether and Polite Society. For breakfast (or any time one wants breakfast food), Press Waffle Co. provides Belgian waffles with extravagant toppings from s’mores to fried chicken, while Good Day — another project by the Bellwether and Polite Society crew — brings sweet and savory crepes to the table. Dessert can be found at Patty’s Cheesecakes or Poptimism, which serves unique flavors of frozen treats, including coffee custard and pomegranate goat cheese popsicles.

Drawing the whole space together is the central Kitchen Bar, operated by Gerard Craft’s prolific Niche Food Group, known for Pastaria, Brasserie and more. Craft is also the culinary director of the Food Hall, curating the restaurants that are present and deciding on future possibilities. Craft has suggested in the past that his vision for the Food Hall goes beyond serving food — farmers, butchers, and potters who make plates and bowls may have a place in the Food Hall one day.

The Food Hall aims to offer a great dining option for indecisive groups or those with differing tastes. With its intriguing green-industrial space and so many options, there will surely be something for everyone. n

Written by CHERYL BAEHR

On the heels of Six Mile Bridge’s announcement last week that chef Ben Welch would be joining its team, the brewery has delivered even bigger news: Owners Ryan and Lindsay Sherring are opening a new restaurant in Wildwood called Botanica (2490 Taylor Road, Wildwood), and they have tapped Welch as its executive chef.

Described as a lively, inviting space consisting of a 13,000-square-foot dining room, lush patio and outdoor bar, Botanica will occupy the former Llywelyn’s Pub location in Wildwood Town Center. Though no firm date has been set, the restaurant is slated to open sometime this fall.

According to Ryan Sherring, he and Lindsay have dreamed of opening a restaurant like Botanica for quite some time, but those plans gradually heated up over the past five years. During that time, the husband-and-wife team had been doing Six Mile Bridge special events at Llywelyn’s and realized that the area was in need of the sort of community gathering place they had always wanted to create. Because Lindsay grew up in Wildwood and her parents still live there, the Sherrings spend a good amount of time in the area and felt that they were well positioned to contribute to the community as hospitality professionals. When the Llywelyn’s space became available, they knew they had their opportunity to do that.

“As we started building up [Six Mile Bridge], we realized there were parts missing,” Ryan Sherring says. “We talked about expanding into neighborhoods where we don’t have a strong presence, and Wildwood has been on that radar for a few years. We could’ve done a Six Mile Bridge out there, but we wanted to be creative and create new beers, new food and new spaces.”

Botanica takes its aesthetic inspiration from Wildwood’s natural beauty; the owners cite the nearby Rockwood Reservation and Babler State Park as jumping-off points for the design, fusing natural and modern elements to create the space. Sherring describes Botanica as modern and chic, with white walls and pop art — filled with contrasting colors.

As for the menu, Welch has created dishes that blend Italian cuisine and the American South, drawing upon his love for those two food traditions and adding in a touch of the barbecue prowess that he’s become known for.

“My goal for Botanica is to explore the marriage of traditional ingredients and recipes from two of the world’s best food cultures: Italian and the Southern United States,” Welch says in a press release. “You’ll find little touches of Southern cooking on the menu with the ingredients featured on pizzas, pastas, and more. The dishes will change seasonally, but my signature gnocchi will always be on the menu.”

Though he will not give specifics, Sherring teases that Botanica is just Phase Two in a sequence of plans he, his wife and Welch have in the works, and they are excited to bring them to life together over the next few years.

“For us, this is about bringing people together,” Sherring says. “That’s been our philosophy since Day One, and this is another way for us to be a part of the community. There’s no better way to build that than grabbing a beer together or breaking bread together.” n

[OPENINGS]

Written by HOLDEN HINDES

After over a year of searching for a space to expand her popular fastcasual Vietnamese restaurant, DD Mau (20 Allen Avenue, Webster Groves; 314-926-0900), owner Julie Truong has found a home in Webster Groves. The new location opened on July 14 in Old Webster and features a menu that matches that of the original Maryland Heights shop, with the addition of expanded dessert options and a forthcoming line of ice creams made in-house.

“I walked around Webster just to eat, and I fell in love with the neighborhood,” Truong says.

She found the space which would become the second location of DD Mau not long after that initial experience with the area. Its outdoor patio, ample parking, large windows and separate section from which Truong plans to sell her ice cream made the choice easy.

“You couldn’t say no,” she says.

The new DD Mau is Truong’s latest “yes” to the restaurant business. A former fashion industry professional, Truong left a successful job in Chicago to return to her hometown of St. Louis to pursue her dreams of owning her own eatery. She succeeded in that vision, opening the Maryland Heights storefront three years ago. The response exceeded her expectations and made her realize she should think about opening a second outlet.

Fans of the original location will be pleased to see their familiar favorites at the new DD Mau. The menu hosts a wide variety of customizable options, including banh mi, bao, rice bowls, salad bowls, tacos and more. Each comes with a choice of nearly a dozen different meat and plant-based proteins, such as steak, pork, duck or vegan shrimp. Guests can also choose from a variety of sauces and condiments to top their dishes, including spicy peanut, sweet chili, hoisin or vegan Vietnamese vinegar.

Truong’s personal recommendations are the vermicelli bowl — rice noodles, veggies and a choice of protein — and the pho with the combo protein option that consists of a mix of steak, brisket and meatballs. Of the vegan and vegetarian options, Truong highlights the tofu.

“People are in love with the tofu; it’s very crispy and it complements every single dish,” Truong says, also noting that the shrimp spring rolls are not to be overlooked either thanks to their rice paper wraps, veggie and vermicelli noodles, and cooking technique that makes the shrimp shine. “Our shrimp is not blanched; it’s marinated and then grilled, so the flavor really comes out.”

Truong is grateful to the residents of Webster Groves, nearby Kirkwood and even some regulars who frequented the Maryland Heights location for a successful opening. Customers knew what to expect from DD Mau, and Truong set high expectations for herself. She notes that opening the first one was a little different, because she didn’t know what to expect, but launching the second spot had the pressure of her guests’ expectations. That she’s been able to meet them so far has been energizing.

Happy to invest that energy into her two existing locations, what Truong can say no to, at least for now, is the prospect of a third DD Mau. With an upcoming wedding and plans to have kids, she thinks it’s best to focus on what she already has.

“There’ll just be a lot on my plate,” she says. “As of now, no. A firm no. Maybe after kids.”

For now, though, fans of the original DD Mau can find their favorites in Webster Groves and the original Maryland Heights spot — and for anyone who has not been, Truong is excited to make new regulars.

“Just come on over,” Truong says. “We’re always there!” n