Rendering courtesy JEMA
St. Louis has its share of beer gardens (and biergartens), but none as multifaceted as the one that will open later this summer in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood.
Locally owned craft brewery Rockwell Beer Co. plans to open a sister location, Rockwell Beer Garden, inside the 60-acre Francis Park. It will become the first brewery to open a satellite facility in a St. Louis public park, with tentative operating hours from 10 a.m.–10 p.m. daily.
The thought of putting together a food-and-beverage concept in a public park appealed to Rockwell Beer co-owners Chris Hulse and James Sanders, who opened the popular flagship location in The Grove in 2018. When they learned that the city was looking to reinvigorate Francis Park, they floated the idea of a family-friendly beer garden to Alderman Tom Oldenburg, the area's neighbors, and the Friends of Francis Park organization. "We ran all the traps,” recalls Sanders—and received an enthusiastic response.
“St. Louis has a longstanding tradition with beer—and beer gardens—which was part of our presentation,” Hulse says. “Our idea was to reactivate parks as community spaces in general, and, in this specific case, have the anchor be a family-centric beer garden. We wanted to open Francis Park up, not close it off as other parks have done, and the idea resonated.”
Rendering courtesy JEMA
The project came together quickly. The process began in October of last year, an RFP was submitted to the city, and Rockwell was selected in February 2021. The licensing process began soon after that, architectural plans were finalized, and the renovation is slated to commence within the month.
The hub for Rockwell Beer Garden (or RBG, as the owners refer to it) is a 1929-era “comfort center” building located adjacent to the tennis courts. “You see these stone buildings in parks all over the city and county,” Sanders says. “This one is larger than most and even included locker rooms on the original drawings."
Photo by George Mahe
There was so much open space in all directions that the site became the major challenge, according to the partners, so they enlisted the help of JEMA, the architectural firm responsible for the design of Rockwell's creatively designed flagship building, made partially out of brightly colored recycled shipping containers. “They knew our brand well—the design, the beer, the food—and helped us think through the logistical issues,” Hulse says. “I can say the same for the city, since this was something new for them, too. Our common goal was to put together a project that would have a transformative effect on the surrounding area.”
What resulted was a large, open-air beer garden, with patios wrapping the building, abundant greenspace, plenty of natural and man-made shade, as well as multiple firepits. Pole-mounted heaters and fans will prolong the patio season, catering to customers who've become comfortable being outdoors in cooler temperatures. “The city’s requirement was to stay open from April to September,” Sanders says, “but with directional heaters, we think we can extend that from March to maybe as late as December,” opening possibilities for holiday markets and people strolling with hot chocolate, coffee drinks, and mulled wine.
Rendering courtesy JEMA
Plans call for a perimeter landscape fence on at least one side, creating what Sanders calls “a park within a park” to help define the space while not confining it. The existing nearby amenities nearby, including a playground and tennis courts, will remain focal points. The tennis courts are being resurfaced by the Parks Department this summer, and pickleball courts are being added. Park guests will be able to check out a racquet, balls, or paddle from a concession window.
“The beer garden will be family-centric but not targeted exclusively to families,” Sanders says, adding that "some of the biggest advocates of the project were from moms whose kids use the playground. It’s important that our customers see and feel the park as it is. These parks are gems, and this is an important one, with a regular stream of people.”
Hulse adds that Francis Park is one of few large parks in the city that doesn’t allow cars. “And where we are sits slightly below grade, so there’s a bit of ‘What’s going on down there?’ mystery to it,” he says. “The place just feels good.”
Rendering courtesy JEMA
Special attention has been given to lighting and sound abatement as well, two critical but overlooked components in beer garden settings. Parking problems have been mitigated with the use of angled parking, which doubles to triples the number of spots. And as with the flagship, RBG is expected to be a popular destination for customers using ride-sharing platforms as well.
Why hasn't such a project been attempted before? “Chris and I are both in real estate, too," Sanders says, "and we knew that socioeconomic conditions in this neighborhood would support something like this right here, right now,”
“The city knew us and trusted us as operators,” Hulse adds, “and it’s always up to the operator to enforce the aesthetic. If you allow your customers to do shots, for example, there’s a stigma attached to that. On the other hand, if it’s 50 degrees and the firepits are blazing, we would like to be able to offer someone a cordial, which is different.”
The partners are improving the building as much as possible to suit their needs. They can build out a kitchen but not alter the structure, which means no exhaust hood, so no indoor gas- or wood-fired appliances. “We're allowed to nicen it,” Sanders says, “so we are replacing the windows, updating the restrooms, and installing garage doors that look more like the originals. We’re actually restoring more of the building’s original look than previously existed.”
The beverage options call for beer and more. The dozen taps will include both Rockwell and guest beers, a draft cocktail, several wines, and possibly a cold brew. Frozen drinks—two with alcohol, two without—will also be available, as well as fountain drinks. (There will be no cans, bottles, or package beer sales.) The coffee supplier is yet to be determined, but Sump Coffee, which cans its cold brew at Rockwell, might be considered a frontrunner. “Part of a good quality of life is good coffee in the morning and beer at night,” Hulse says.
Similarly, the food component is yet to be announced, but the partners hinted that it would be family-friendly and include both indoor and outdoor cooking. RBG will be open for lunch, dinner, and weekend service. “We might have shaved ice but no ice cream,” Sanders adds. “Ted Drewes is our neighbor, and we have to be respectful of that.”
Hulse says the RBG will have the “same aesthetic, same familiar feel, same people” as the flagship. Ryan Nicholson will be in charge of both the beer garden and the flagship. Jonathan Moxey (whose mantra is “Beer should be fun, not fussy”) is Rockwell’s head brewer.
Part of the appeal of Francis Park arose from the myriad events it hosts every year: city and CYC league softball, the Gateway Cup bike race, the two-day Art in the Park festival, the “Foot Golf” tournament, the small-goal soccer tournament (in which 150 teams participate), Brew in the Lou, and Grub & Groove (featuring food and retail vendors, as well as live bands all day).
Francis Park is practically in Sanders’ back yard, but the partners could see similar endeavors in many of city parks. “We enjoy the outdoor element and would like to be a part of spearheading other projects like this,” Hulse says. “St. Louis has good bones. It deserves more cool stuff.”
Rendering courtesy JEMA
