For one night this fall, a stretch of Historic Downtown Perryville will become an open-air supper club, with live-fire cooking, jazz and a 120-seat communal table at the center of it all.
Fireside Feast, presented by Mary Jane Burgers & Brew and Brass + Bone, will take place Thursday, Sept. 17, in Perryville’s Warehouse Entertainment District. The event will bring guests together around one long, candlelit table for a multi-course dinner prepared by chefs cooking over live fire.
The evening is designed to be as much about the setting as the food. Chefs will cook in the center of the table while live jazz plays beneath string lights, with wine, cocktails and the first hints of fall filling out the experience.
“This isn’t simply dinner,” said Carisa Stark, owner of Stark Property Management LLC. “It’s an experience we’ve created around everything we love about hospitality: incredible food, music, atmosphere and bringing people together.”
Stark, along with collaborators Kate and Steph, has spent years developing events and experiences in Perryville. Fireside Feast is intended to build on that work while giving diners a reason to make the trip from St. Louis and beyond.
“For one night, we’re transforming a piece of Historic Downtown Perryville into an open-air supper club,” Stark said. “Imagine 120 people gathered around one beautiful candlelit table, chefs cooking over a live fire right in the middle of the experience, jazz playing under the stars, wine glasses clinking and that first hint of fall in the Missouri air.”
The live-fire cooking is meant to be part of the dinner’s theater, rather than something happening behind the scenes. Guests will be able to watch the chefs prepare the multi-course meal as smoke and the aromas of wood, herbs and fresh ingredients become part of the evening.
“It’s the intimacy and theater of it,” Stark said. “The smoke, the aromas, the music, the candlelight and the food all become part of the same experience.”
The collaboration between Mary Jane Burgers & Brew and Brass + Bone is another key component of the event. The two Perryville businesses are combining their approaches to food, cocktails and hospitality for an experience that is different from their typical restaurant offerings.
Tickets include the multi-course fireside dinner, live jazz and the communal dining experience. Craft cocktails, wine and other beverages will be available for purchase separately.
With only 120 seats available, the event is deliberately limited in size. The dinner will begin at 5:30 p.m., and the dress code is “supper club chic,” with organizers suggesting linen dresses, boots, tailored jackets and other polished evening attire.
For Stark, however, the larger goal is introducing more people to Perryville itself.
“I think the biggest thing we’d tell someone from St. Louis is: don’t think of Perryville as somewhere you’re simply driving to for dinner,” she said. “Come experience the town.”
Historic Downtown Perryville has spent the past 13 years revitalizing its historic spaces with independently owned restaurants, lodging, entertainment, events and other experiences. Stark encourages Fireside Feast attendees to arrive early, explore the historic district, visit local shops and restaurants, then stay overnight and return for brunch the following morning.
“Perryville has the warmth and personality people love about a small Missouri town, but we’re working hard to create experiences that are worth traveling for,” Stark said.
Fireside Feast will be held at the Warehouse Entertainment District in Historic Downtown Perryville on Thursday, Sept. 17. Dinner seating begins at 5:30 p.m., with 120 seats available.
Tickets and additional information are available through Brass + Bone.