Liege waffle eatery Iron & Rye will replace O’Shay’s Pub in The Grove

By Darian Stevenson // June 4, 2019


Once known as a neighborhood spot to grab Irish and American grub, beer and whiskey, the old O’Shay’s Pub will become Iron & Rye, a restaurant serving Liege waffles, breakfast treats and specialty cocktails. Innkeeper Hospitality Services, which owns Iron & Rye, plans to open the restaurant at 4353 Manchester Ave., in mid-June.

Senior vice president of sales and marketing Harry Lunt said owner Amrit Gill was inspired to open the concept thanks to an old college roommate.

“Our owner, Amrit, when he was in college, had a Belgian roommate, and his roommate use to make what is called a Liege, basically a Belgian waffle,” Lunt said. “Then several years ago, Mr. Gill was out traveling, and he went to a restaurant that featured sort of the same style of Belgian waffle and he said, ‘Wow that would be really fun to do something like that in St. Louis.’”

Traditional Liege waffles are made with pearl sugar, which adds a crunchy textural component to the sweet treat. “The sugar doesn’t completely dissolve, so when you bite into it, you get this [different] flavor profile burst," Lunt said. 

Lunt said they decided to change concept after O’Shay’s became more of a sports hang out. “O’Shay’s Pub originated as an Irish pub, and it sort of morphed into more of sports bar, so it didn’t have a clear identity,” he said. “The Grove is always the cutting edge of cuisine, and we thought with other larger sport bars in certain areas of town, let’s do something unique and different.”

Iron & Rye will serve a variety of soups, salads, waffle-based entrees and desserts, as well as full cocktail menu. “We’re still working on the menu right now, but we’ll be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, and we’ll have sweet items, savory items, and we’ll have some stuff right in the middle,” Lunt said. “We’ll also be serving Sunday brunch.”

O’Shay’s Pub is currently being transformed into Iron & Rye with a complete remodel. The old Irish pub and sports memorabilia will be removed and replaced with new decor.

Darian Stevenson is an editorial intern at Sauce Magazine.