Government shutdown prompts St. Louis restaurants, breweries to help furloughed workers

It’s been a difficult few weeks for many people across the country as the partial government shutdown forced thousands of federal employees to go without pay. Seeking to provide a little relief, some local restaurants and breweries have announced discounts – and in some cases free meals – for furloughed workers with federal government identification.

Sardella Osteria announced that on Monday, Jan. 21, it will offer free to-go sandwiches to government employees. The two available options are a ham, butter and mustard sandwich or an artichoke and portobello sandwich, both served on baguette donated by Companion. Sandwiches will be available from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. or until they run out.

Wellspent Brewery Co. in Midtown currently offers government employees 30 percent off its menu during regular business hours Wednesday through Sunday.

“It was something that easy for us to do,” said Wellspent owner and brewer Kyle Kohlmorgen. “We have friends that are government employees, and we just wanted to help anybody out that’s in that situation.”

Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. is offering discounts to furloughed employees on all food and beverage items at its Midtown and Grove locations Sunday through Thursday for the duration of the shutdown.

“It’s got to not be great not having work right now, so we thought it would be nice to offer a discount for those workers who are on furlough,” said Ashley Troutman, Urban Chestnut’s business and marketing operations manager.

House of India in University City is offering a free lunch buffet to federal employees. “Eating rice, spice and everything nice can’t be stopped by the government,” the owners wrote in a recent Facebook post. “We appreciate the work federal employees do for us and the country and believe that halting their pay is unfair.”

Downtown, BLT’s is offering government employees 50 percent off all food orders; children 10 and younger can eat for free off the kids’ menu.

Is your restaurant or bar offering furloughed government employees a discount during the government shutdown? Email pr@saucemagazine.com with more information. 

Adam Rothbarth is a staff writer at Sauce Magazine.