Creve Coeur has a new grocery store that sells locally grown and sourced produce and meat, a bakery offering fresh breads and pastries, plus a variety of dry goods. In addition to groceries, Pierce Creek, located in the former home of Kohn’s Kosher Deli at 10405 Old Olive Street Road, serves food as well.
The market’s owners are Kent Evans and Rachelle L’Ecuyer, who are also the team behind The MOObile food truck, a Sauce Food Truck Friday favorite, as well as Pierce Creek Cattle Co., located about an hour west of St. Louis in Lonedell. The food truck serves smash burgers as well as its tallow-fried French fries, and the cattle company focuses on offering pasture-raised beef with no added hormones or unnecessary antibiotics.
Offering local foods, beverages and dry goods as well as items that are grown or produced without unnecessary additives or ingredients is important to the owners. Inside the store’s dining area, guests will find a fountain soda machine that serves Excel, a local brand that uses cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup. Coma Coffee is available to purchase by the bag in store and will be served at the store’s coffee bar, which is currently in development.
“Our motto is ‘as local as possible,’ and we’re hoping to work with as many local purveyors as we can,” L’Ecuyer said of the new business.
Browsing through the produce section, customers can find salad greens and in-season produce grown by area farmers, plus locally-sourced meats in the butcher shop, including beef from Pierce Creek Cattle Company, and dry goods made by local, smaller producers, such as chocolate from Wanderlust Chocolate in nearby Washington.
Currently Pierce Creek is serving lunch inside the store Tuesday through Saturday and The MOObile food truck also makes appearances in the store’s parking lot, currently on Tuesdays, with other days added depending on the truck’s schedule each week.
The establishment held a series of soft openings earlier this month and so far the team has received very positive feedback on the food. The menu is led by chef Max Crask, one of the owners of the nitro ice cream shop Ices Plain & Fancy. Crask created the soft opening menu which features sandwiches and burgers.
The BPT, a massive breaded pork tenderloin sandwich, is one of Crask’s creations and playfully referred to as “modest,” and is served on a bun, topped with lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion. Another delectable offering includes a grilled ribeye steak sandwich, served with caramelized onions and pub cheddar on a toasted hoagie-style bun. There’s also a beef birria, which comes with consomme, and other choices like BLT and Reuben. Each lunch sandwich is served à la carte, with tallow fries, Billy Goat brand chips or potato salad available as sides, and there are plans to add more housemade side selections in the near future.
There are plans to offer breakfast and dinner service, and the establishment is in the process of building a bar and obtaining its liquor license, to sell bottles and cans of local wines, craft beers and spirits, and to serve cocktails on-site.
If it seems like there’s a lot planned for Pierce Creek, that’s because there is. With just over 7,000 square feet of space, Evans and L’Ecuyer have created a business that, when it’s fully rolled out, will be able to provide customers with their weekly grocery shopping, as well as prepared meals that can be taken home and reheated, and offer them a meal in store, all of which can be done in one trip.
“We’re going to keep adding things as more and more people show up,” Evans promised of the store’s roll out process.
In terms of the store’s aesthetic, some interior details haven’t changed, such as an existing mural on the wall that depicts second-generation Kohn’s Kosher Deli owner Lenny Kohn’s parents. The Kohn’s were immigrants and holocaust survivors who originally started Kohn’s in University City before moving the business to Creve Coeur.
“We painted over a couple other murals, but when we looked at that one, we didn’t want to erase something like that,” L’Ecuyer said.
The store’s color scheme has shifted to periwinkle, green and yellow – colors L’Ecuyer said are prevalent on the cattle farm in Lonedell, while the wood table and chairs in the dining area are existing furnishings that may be upgraded in the future.
Also in the future will be more variety on the store shelves and on the food menu as the owners continue to establish relationships with local producers.
“We’re looking for people to hire to work in the store and we want to partner with people who make things that are local and ethically produced,” Evans said.
While the plans to extend the dining service to include breakfast and dinner and adding the bar doesn’t have a firm timeline, but the team hopes to roll those things out as soon as possible.
Pierce Creek is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday for lunch, the market is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the food truck is there Tuesday evenings now from 5 to 8 p.m.
Check out the slideshow below for a look at their space and some of their offerings.
