The arrival of warm weather would have meant the opening of Hendricks BBQ, the newest project by restaurateurs Dr. Gurpreet Padda and Amy Grimes, who also own Sanctuaria, Chuy Arzola’s, Café Ventana and Cathedral Square Brewery. However, a 16-inch water main pipe in historic St. Charles that burst toward the end of May left eight feet of water inside the building at 1200 S. Main St., delaying the restaurant’s opening by three to four months.
When Hendricks does open, guests can expect what Padda considers St. Louis-style barbecue – a combination of Kansas City and Memphis styles of ‘cue that incorporates slow smoking and dry rubs as opposed to wet “mop” sauces and includes sauce served on the side. The lower level of the building will be home to Moonshine Blues Bar, a Prohibition-era bar serving cocktails and offering live music.
Meanwhile, Padda has crews tackling numerous other projects. For instance, he’s moving Chuy Arzola’s from its current location inside The Coronado building at 3701 Lindell Blvd., to the former Iggy’s Mexican Cantina location at 3761 Laclede Ave., near St. Louis University. The restaurant will have more fresh fish on the menu as well as two new large patios, all of which is set to be completed over the summer. The vacated Coronado space will be used for banquets.
As for the duo’s dip into the local craft brewing scene, Cathedral Square Brewery at 3914 Lindell Blvd., which currently sells its four brews to 40 restaurants and grocery stores across three states, will open the first floor as a pub and tasting room this fall, with a lounge on the second level. The brewery will roll out a seasonal brew called Forbidden Fruit, an apple wheat beer produced with apples from Foundation Farms, the 30-acre farm in Belleville, Ill., that Padda and Grimes use to grow produce and raise chickens and bees – and soon goats and guinea fowl – that are used at their various restaurants.
Just in case that weren’t enough to make you tired just thinking about these busy restaurateurs’ to-do list, Padda and Grimes have also ventured into Soulard, recently acquiring the historic four-building St. Lucas Church complex. Two years down the road, it will open as an 800-seat live music venue and a 350-seat restaurant. And, as St. Louis Magazine’s George Mahe reported, Padda and Grimes plan to open a southern Italian restaurant called DiSilvio’s next door to Café Ventana next year.
This article appears in June 2011.