Beast Craft BBQ will open second restaurant, butcher shop in The Grove

By Lauren Healy and Matt Sorrell // April 11, 2018


Beast Craft BBQ owner and pit master David Sandusky has announced plans to expand his barbecue empire. Beast Butcher & Block will open in late summer at 4156 Manchester Road in The Grove, offering daily counter service for lunch, dinner and late-night hours.

Sandusky said the original Beast Craft in Belleville and Beast Butcher & Block will “share the same heart and soul,” though the new concept will have some to-be-determined additions.

“We have a little more capability in this space, but we’re still working on [what the additions will be],” he said. “We [can] do chef-driven barbecue; we do whatever we want.”

The new, roughly 6,000-square-foot space is more than twice the size of the Belleville restaurant and will boast 100 seats in the main dining room and patio seating for an additional 25. Local vendor Narrative Furniture will provide custom tables and chairs. The new place will feature a couple of unique additions along with the requisite barbecue: The Butchery and The Skullery

rendering courtesy of Beast Craft BBQ


As the name implies, The Butchery will be a full-service butcher shop, while The Skullery will be a combo of chef’s table and R&D space. “The Butchery is an in-house butcher shop that will cut the meats for restaurants but will also sell retail,” Sandusky said. “You can come in and buy some of the cuts we use in the restaurant with high-end animals, but you’ll also be able to buy many different cuts from local animals. There will be local produce and breads, too. We’ll also have house-cured bacon, locally farmed tomatoes and bread from local bakers.”

Sandusky said The Skullery will allow him to “stretch my legs and be able to do the creative things I’ve been held back from doing in the spall space in Belleville,” including collaborating with fellow chefs and hosting events like pig roasts.

“I’ll also be using it to record my radio show [The Budweiser Big BBQ], so it’s a very multipurpose room,” Sandusky said. “People can rent the room, and we’ll charge by the head. We can bring a block out and carve a brisket right there in front of them.”