Crestwood’s dining scene is continuing to grow with The Brass Tap, a craft beer bar and restaurant, and Columbia-based JoJo’s Biscuits Co. as the latest businesses set to join Crestwood Crossing, the redevelopment of the former Crestwood Plaza mall. The Brass Tap will open its second location in the St. Louis region, while JoJo’s will bring its popular breakfast and brunch concept to the St. Louis area for the first time.
The new additions come as Crestwood Crossing continues to transform into a dining and retail destination. The Mexican STL opened there in September 2025, followed by Katie’s Pizza & Pasta in February 2026. For AJ McNaughton, communications manager for the city of Crestwood, the growing list of restaurants reflects a larger shift happening throughout the community.
“Businesses are realizing the kind of growth that is happening in Crestwood,” McNaughton said. With young families moving into the area, access to Lindbergh Schools and convenient proximity to Interstates 270 and 44, he said Crestwood has become an increasingly attractive place to open a business. Dierbergs’ redevelopment of the former mall site has also brought new tenants and activity to the area.
JoJo’s Biscuits Co. is one of the businesses betting on that growth. The restaurant opened its first location in Columbia, Missouri, about a year ago, but owner Jason Paetzold has been creating restaurant concepts for much longer. He previously grew and sold a franchise concept called The Big Biscuit based in Kansas City and opened Bud’s Barbecue in Columbia and before launching JoJo’s.
Paetzold and his partners at J&J Hospitality Group are now rapidly expanding their portfolio. Along with JoJo’s in Crestwood, the group is working to open three new restaurants in Columbia, including Pablo, a Tex-Mex concept with an urban Mexico City-inspired feel, as well as Rosie’s Tortilla Company, a live-fire Mexican concept, and Chabatoni’s, an Italian steakhouse.
Expanding JoJo’s to St. Louis felt like a natural next step. “Mizzou has such strong ties with the city of St. Louis, and we’ve really entrenched ourselves here in the community,” Paetzold said. “St. Louis made sense.”
Crestwood, specifically, caught his attention because of the redevelopment at Crestwood Crossing and the businesses already joining the area. “Crestwood was super exciting with the new Dierbergs and Katie’s Pizza,” he said. “It’s just really expanded in a fun way, so we wanted to be a part of that.”
The Crestwood restaurant will be JoJo’s first location in the St. Louis area, with additional locations also planned along Olive Boulevard and in Town & Country. Paetzold expects Crestwood to open first, likely at the beginning of 2027.
The restaurant will bring Columbia favorites like its bestselling Banker, made with house-cured bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy, and roasted potatoes, while also developing new dishes for the St. Louis market, including a quesabirria breakfast taco with braised brisket and a St. Louis-inspired pancake. Diners can also expect sweet options like JoJo’s cookie butter biscuit, which Paetzold calls an “instant classic.”
The concept fills a gap in Crestwood, which McNaughton said has relatively few breakfast options and a mix of young families and older residents that makes it a natural fit.
The Brass Tap will bring an upbeat, welcoming neighborhood gathering spot to the area. Owners Kush and Prapti Patel opened their first St. Louis-area location in Olivette after both spent years dreaming of entering the restaurant industry.
Kush comes from a family that has operated St. Louis businesses for decades, while Prapti previously worked in corporate IT and data analytics. Her family also owned a small restaurant, and she worked in restaurants while attending college. When the couple discovered they shared a passion for hospitality, they decided to make the leap together.
At The Brass Tap, that passion takes the form of 45 beers on tap, with an emphasis on local breweries and beers that may be difficult to find outside of their home breweries. But the Patels say the concept is designed to appeal to more than craft beer enthusiasts. The restaurant also offers a full menu of elevated bar food, scratch-made cocktails, wine and mocktails. “If you love beer, you’ll have a great time,” Prapti said. “If you hate beer, you’ll still have a great time.”
The Brass Tap also aims to function as a neighborhood gathering spot. Its Olivette location hosts events including trivia, Jeopardy, bar bingo, brewery events and live music, while also serving as a destination for watching sports. The Crestwood location will feature a large patio and a prominent video wall designed for game days.
The couple signed on to develop five Brass Tap locations in the St. Louis region and chose Crestwood for their next location after looking for growing communities that could benefit from the concept. “We try to find out what’s missing,” Kush said. “What is this area lacking a little bit? What could it use?”
They found Crestwood fit the criteria. The Patels also plan to adapt the location based on feedback from the people who live there, from the beers on tap to the events hosted throughout the week. For the couple, becoming part of an area experiencing so much growth is part of the appeal. “We’re most excited to serve and get to know the community of Crestwood, see what they like, what they don’t, and then get their feedback,” Prapti said.
The Brass Tap is currently targeting an opening sometime between December and spring 2027, though the owners say the timeline remains tentative.
Together, the two concepts represent the latest chapter in Crestwood Crossing’s ongoing transformation. JoJo’s will add a new breakfast and brunch option, while The Brass Tap will bring a craft beer-focused restaurant and event-driven neighborhood bar to the mix.