Attention, passengers: a St. Louis classic is landing at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Mike Shannon’s co-owner Pat Shannon-VanMatre has announced plans to open a Mike Shannon’s Grill at the airport in early summer. This will be the third Mike Shannon’s restaurant location. “We are excited about representing what we feel is an iconic St. Louis restaurant in the airport,” she said. “[We’re] very proud that the airport invited us to represent St. Louis food culture.”
The grill will be located in the former space of Mosaic Restaurant in Terminal 1 and will seat roughly 48 in the dining area and another 40 at the bar. Shannon-VanMatre said the airport had approached the restaurant in previous years, but the family wanted to perfect its grill concept in Edwardsville, Ill., before introducing it to the airport.
Shannon-VanMatre said the menu at the airport will include Edwardsville grill items like burgers, sandwiches, wraps and salads, as well as a selection of Mike Shannon’s signature steaks. The airport location will also add something new to the restaurant’s repertoire: breakfast. Morning offerings could include breakfast burritos and sandwiches, baked oatmeal, French toast and more.
The Shannon family has worked closely with HMSHost, which manages Lambert’s dining program, to design a space that adheres to the Mike Shannon’s aesthetic and to fine tune the grill menu to better serve traveling customers. “It’s very different from what we do because obviously as a family-owned business, myself and sons, we are involved every day in both our locations,” Shannon-VanMatre said. “It’s a very different working environment, but what we feel confident about is that HMSHost is one of the premier management companies in the country.”
-rendering courtesy of HMSHost, Ideation and Mike Shannon’s
This article appears in April 2014.