Red Bud gets a new brewery; Belleville bar reopens with a new name
After four generations of farming and growing grain in Randolph County, the Liefer family’s legacy will live on inside their new Red Bud brewery.
Located at 118 Market St., Lieferbräu Brewery recently opened after two years of planning, preparation and a major building renovation in the heart of town.
“In the last 25 years, there’s been a lot of time and resources committed to the revival of Red Bud,” Kirk Liefer said. “We have some great restaurants, cool nightlife on the weekends, and we feel really fortunate to be a part of that.”
Kirk Liefer joined forces with his siblings and their spouses to bring their vision to life. Kirk’s wife, Stephanie Liefer; Kent and Karen Liefer; Ray and Kara (Liefer) Wagner; and Kris and Danielle Liefer will operate the business that is expected to attract more tourists and beer lovers to the metro-east.
Their last name, Liefer, means "to deliver," and "bräu" means "beer" in German, Kirk explained. The family loosely translates the brewery’s name as “we deliver beer.”
Family photos from the farm and other portraits help to make the environment inside the brewery warm and inviting. Outside, patrons can sit on the patio in the rear of the brewery or soak up the sun upstairs while drinking a beer on the balcony.
The Liefer family has installed a five-barrel system on the upper level of the brewery, where head brewer Kris Liefer will go to work each week. He enjoys German-style beer, and 12 different beers will be available at the bar, including one named after his wife.
The DaniBerry Wheat is a raspberry wheat beer inspired by Danielle’s love of fruity flavor. Every beer on the menu honors the family or has a special meaning behind the name. The Seven70 IPA pays homage to their family’s farming tradition. It’s an intense citrusy hoppy beer with a subtle pine flavor.
Craft cocktails and high-end bourbon are also on the menu.
If you get hungry while you’re there, the brewery keeps menus on hand from nearby restaurants. Patrons can bring in their own food or have something delivered.
Want to go? The brewery is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, noon to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. The brewery is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. For more information, call 618- 559-7950.
Belleville bar reopens with new look and name
Mike Whitaker started serving breakfast and beer at his corner tavern long before posh Bloody Mary bars at brunch became a thing.
Located at 200 Mascoutah Ave, the historic bar stopped serving food late last year when it temporarily closed. But Whitaker always planned to keep breakfast on the menu along with other popular favorites like tacos and fried chicken.
Whitaker, a longtime caterer and businessman, said it was time to update the neighborhood watering hole. One of the oldest bars in the city, Charlie's is a place where politicians, city employees and Belleville natives would gather after work.
"People would come in from the hospital after working all night," Whitaker recalled in the bar he's owned nearly 20 years.
He purchased it from Charlie Wilson in 1999. The decor hasn't changed much since then.
That's why the bar and restaurant has a new look, a new name and a new investor who wants to draw more millennials and newcomers to the iconic establishment.
Whitaker’s new partner, Tim Hasenstab, helped to come up with the bar’s new name and logo. He also wants to restore the iconic Stag beer sign out front. New black leather booths, two jukeboxes, new floors, new beer signs, a designated center for gaming and a restoration job at the bar are all a part of Whitaker and Hasenstab’s plan to revive their historic corner of Belleville.
Charlie’s Off Main reopened June 29 with breakfast, beer and other “classic Charlie” items on the menu.
This metro-east barbecue restaurant was named one of the best in the country
You don’t have to travel far to find good barbecue in the metro-east, but if you want some of the best in the country, head to Doc’s Smokehouse in Edwardsville, a national barbecue industry magazine suggests.
National Barbecue News recently published its “Best of the Best Barbecue” guide, with Doc's rounding off the list for the best places to try in Illinois. 17th Street Bar & Grill in Murphysboro also made the list. No barbecue businesses in Missouri made the list.
Located at 1017 Century Drive, Doc's is known for its pork steaks that are so tender you could cut one “with a plastic spoon,” owner Susan Richardson said.
Ribs, chicken wings and burnt ends are customer favorites at Doc's, along with its signature barbecue baked beans.
Richardson and her husband, Doc, have made a name for themselves on the competition trail, and they still work hard to give the same experience and quality to their customers.
“There’s that drive to give it everything you’ve got,” Susan Richardson said. “It’s not just barbecue, it’s a craft to us.”
Doc’s was the only barbecue restaurant in the metro-east named to the list, but Richardson doesn’t want other establishments and stands to go unnoticed.
“There’s a lot of great cooks out there,” Richardson said. “There’s a lot of great barbecue in the St. Louis area.”
Want to give Doc’s a try? The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays. Doc’s is closed Mondays. For more information, call 618-656-6060.
Family-owned O'Fallon pizza shop expands to St. Louis
Crazy about calzones? The family-owned pizza shop Flamentco's The Place in O’Fallon will soon expand its reach by opening a new restaurant in downtown St. Louis.
"We're eager and we're hungry to take over the Midwest," owner Brittany Flament said. "My goal is to build my kids an empire, so they have a legacy and can take it to another level."
Three years ago, Flament and her husband, Navy Lieutenant Cory Flament, opened their first restaurant at 711 W U.S. 50 in O'Fallon.
Cory Flament, an active-duty Naval officer, grew up working in a New York pizza shop, where he learned the trade. Years later, his family pursued the idea of opening their own shop, and now their dreams are a reality.
Inside the O'Fallon shop, you’ll meet their three daughters, their energetic employees and the new manager, who will take over operations at the new St. Louis location.
“It’s very exciting,” said Raheme “The Rock” Bass. “I’ve been a chef for over 20 years. We’re definitely going to have specials and things you haven’t seen before.”
The Place serves pizza, subs, wings and other pizza shop staples such as salad, pasta and breadsticks. But what you might not expect are big calzones, Philadelphia cheese steak fries and cannolis.
Creative pizza options on the menu include a macaroni and cheese pizza and the jungle pizza topped with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions, green peppers and black olives. There’s also a Cory’s signature pizza, a pie topped with red sauce, mozzarella, provolone, marinated tomatoes, shallots, genoa salami and bacon.
Bass plans to freshen up the menu in St. Louis, where customers will be able to order pizza by the slice. The New York tradition of ordering a single slice is an option at the O'Fallon location, too.
The new shop, located at 418 South Tucker Blvd., is expected to open in mid-July.
Can't wait until then? The O'Fallon location is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.
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