The 5 Star Burgers location in Kirkwood at 312 S. Kirkwood Road has closed. As reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the restaurant served its last burger on Thursday, Sept. 28. The 5 Star locations in Clayton and Creve Coeur remain open.
According to owner Stephen Gontram, upcoming scheduled roadwork on Kirkwood Road and a new double drive-thru at a nearby Starbucks location helped him make the decision to close.
“(Starbucks) does a lot of business, and they create a lot of traffic. I was really concerned that the combination of construction project plus the long-term congestion on Kirkwood Road was really going to hurt business,” he said. “We had a good four years and did good business, but sometimes you see the writing on the wall. It’s kind of a side step for us. I wasn’t happy to have to do it, but I felt like I had to do it.”
Gontram said he’s sold the building and is in the process of putting the equipment in storage. Though he’s not actively seeking out a new 5 Star location, Gontram said ultimately, he’d like to do a project in St. Louis city.
“I’m a city kid at heart, and I’d love to be able to put something in the city,” he said. “And I don’t even know if it’d be a 5 Star Burgers. It might be something else.”
Editor’s Note: This article originally stated in the incorrect location of Starbucks. It was updated at 4:15 p.m. Oct. 4 to correct this information.
Matt Sorrell is a staff writer at Sauce Magazine.
This article appears in Guide to the Holidays 2017.