A new Lion’s Choice opens in Edwardsville and 8 other restaurant news bites
The first two months of 2020 have brought announcements of openings, closings, expansions and other changes to the metro-east restaurant scene.
Here are a few notable ones:
- In early January, Crushed Red in Edwardsville closed after two-and-a-half years on the ground floor of the new Madison Mutual building at 222 E. Park St. in Edwardsville. The fast-casual chain, which specializes in salads and pizza, has six other locations in Missouri and Kansas and is opening one soon in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
- On Jan. 24, the owners of the popular Fire-N-Smoke Wood Fired Kitchen in Troy opened a new restaurant called Chic N Pig at 3200 Godfrey Road, near Liberty Bank in Godfrey. It specializes in all-natural chicken, turkey, pork and beef, fresh-baked bread and local craft beers.
- On Jan. 29, a Lion’s Choice location opened at 2384 Troy Road in Edwardsville, between Steak ‘n Shake and Pizza Hut. The fast-food chain, founded in 1967, has more than 30 restaurants, mostly in the St. Louis area but also in Kansas City and Columbia, Missouri. It specializes in thin-sliced roast beef sandwiches.
- On Feb. 1 , Signature Tap House opened at 51 Lincoln Highway, on property owned by St. Clair Square mall in Fairview Heights. The independently-owned restaurant and bar serves artisan burgers, seafood, flatbread pizzas, salads, sandwiches, wraps and desserts. It also has a large selection of craft beers, wines and bourbons.
- Kruta Bakery recently announced plans to add indoor and outdoor seating at 300 St. Louis Road in Collinsville this year, turning it into more of a cafe. Family-owned since 1919, the bakery sells cakes, cookies, doughnuts, danishes, other pastries, pies, stollens, coffee cakes and breads.
- Across the street, the owners of McDill’s Irish Pub will tear down their building at 334 St. Louis Road and two homes on adjoining lots and construct a much larger restaurant and bar. They serve burgers, sandwiches, wraps, salads, pizza and appetizers, daily specials and nearly 50 kinds of Irish whiskey.
- A Kentucky-based chain of Drake’s Come Play restaurants is building a new location at 1160 Central Park Drive, along Interstate 64 in O’Fallon. It specializes in beer, burgers and sushi, and each location doubles as an entertainment venue with a giant Jenga game, cornball and other activities. A spring opening date is expected.
Well-known St. Louis restaurateur Michael Del Pietro is preparing to open a new restaurant this spring as part of The Parkway development along Illinois 157 in Edwardsville. It will serve eclectic American cuisine. Del Pietro operates seven other restaurants, mostly Italian.
Obar Cafe in Edwardsville is working to add franchises on the Delmar Loop in St. Louis and in Chicago, Charlotte and Durham, North Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida and Long Island, New York. The restaurant, which opened in August in Montclaire Shopping Center, specializes in healthy, internationally-inspired meals, juices and coffees.
