NYC chef David Burke reveals details about upcoming Grand Tavern

By Matt Sorrell // March 1, 2018

Chef David Burke has opened restaurants all along the East Coast, as well as Chicago, Washington D.C. and Las Vegas. His next project: St. Louis.

Earlier this week, New York-based ESquared Hospitality announced a partnership with Burke to open Grand Tavern by David Burke this fall in the upcoming Angad Arts Hotel in Grand Center. St. Louis-based Lawrence Group is currently developing the property at 634 N. Grand Blvd.

Though St. Louis is a smaller market than some of his other projects, Burke said he’s excited by the opportunities here.

“It’s a smaller market, but I think the markets that are interesting right now are the smaller markets,” he said. “You’re starting to see Austin and Nashville and Charlotte, and St. Louis right there with them, starting to embrace the modern American culinary scene and get behind local restaurants. I’ve opened restaurants in lots of different cities, but I’m pretty excited about getting to know St. Louis.”

Burke described Grand Tavern as casual yet elevated, with food “loosely based” on the fare at his Tavern62 by David Burke in NYC.

“It’s a tavern by name, which means there’s a sense of casualness to it, but on the highest end of what a tavern would be,” Burke said. “We like to give some uniqueness to each property, so we’ll try to fold in some of the local favorites and do a twist on them. We have Pappy’s around the corner, which I couldn’t get into because it was so crowded. I know there’s a nice appetite [in St. Louis] for that type of flavor, so you might see us do something with a smoked or barbecue item on the menu, or maybe we’ll do a gooey butter cake-French toast or something like that.”

Burke is designing the menu, but he will search the area for local talent to helm the Grand Tavern kitchen.

“The best case would be to find someone local who has worked with me in the past or would be willing to come up and spend some time in my NYC or D.C. kitchens,” he said.

Matt Sorrell is staff writer at Sauce Magazine.