Beast Butcher & Block has closed in the Grove

David and Meggan Sandusky have announced the closure of Beast Butcher & Block at 4156 Manchester Ave. in the Grove. The restaurant will honor Easter Sunday brunch reservations and Easter ham pickups, as well as hosting several barbecue demonstration classes in April, but regular service ended on Sunday, March 26. 

“Now is the right time,” began a letter shared by the Sanduskys to confirm the closure of the Grove location, which opened in June 2019. Beast Butcher & Block featured a 100-seat dining room, a full service butcher, a patio, and a private dining room called The Skullery which hosted a series of "fire-to-table" dinners. 

Easter Sunday brunch reservations will be honored on April 9, with service running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. “We got a lot of reservations for Easter brunch, so we're going to go ahead and fulfill Easter Brunch as kind of a last hurrah,” said David Sandusky. Easter ham and bulk orders can also be picked up on April 9, and barbecue demonstration classes will run as scheduled on April 8, 15, 22 and 29, with a few spots still open. Additionally, the Beast food truck will operate out of the parking lot at the Grove location at select times. Sandusky said we can also expect to see the food truck roll up at events around the city throughout the year. 

The barbecue favorite will continue to serve customers at its original location, Beast Craft BBQ in Belleville, Illinois. Any customers with outstanding gift cards for Beast can still use them at the Belleville location, or at the Beast food truck. Beast's trademark pork steak sandwiches will also be available at the restaurant's counter at St. Louis City SC’s CityPark stadium. “We’re really happy with our status at the stadium,” Sandusky said. 

The letter expressed gratitude to staff and customers who the Sanduskys said had made their four years in the Grove a “wonderful” experience, before going on to explain the closure in the context of Beast’s broader business strategy. “I’ve recently decided to focus our efforts into the new CityPark location, our original location in Belleville, and bettering our position for growth in the future,” Sandusky said. The news of Beast Butcher & Block's closure comes almost a year after the demise of Beast Southern Kitchen in Columbia, Illinois, which shuttered in May 2022.   

“Make no mistake, we’re not dead,” said Sandusky. “We’re doing the right things to ensure our long-term success, and for our health. We’ve learned a ton, have grown tremendously as a group, and are excited for new things to come.”