4 Hands at The District opens at The Hub in Chesterfield

The brewery partnered with Hi-Pointe Drive-In at the 10,000-square-foot complex.

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Brew pub lovers now have a new place to check out, one that comes with a tasty lagniappe. 4 Hands at The District, the 10,000-square-foot satellite tasting room of its 4 Hands Brewing Co. flagship in La Salle Park, will open in Chesterfield at The District of St. Louis at 4 p.m. on Thursday, August 31. Its culinary partner in the space is Hi-Pointe Drive-In, which operates a pickup counter and kitchen, one of seven Hi-Pointe restaurants across the metro area.

THE ATMOSPHERE

4 Hands and Hi-Pointe are the anchor tenants at The Hub, the $4 million centerpiece of The District, and occupy the former outlet mall's food court. A large, illuminated 4 Hands Brewing Co. roof sign, 45 feet above the ground, towers atop The Hub, an aptly named outdoor gathering space that features a pavilion, LED screen and stage, and turf viewing field. On each side are spaces for two restaurants, all with patios that face inward.

Napoli Bros. Pizzeria and Pasta, a casual Italian spinoff concept from the Café Napoli team, will occupy a 4800-square-foot space. Narwhal’s Crafted, the locally owned frozen cocktail emporium with locations in Midtown and St. Charles, has signed a letter of intent for the 3,000-square-foot space behind it. Narwhal’s co-owner Brad Merten says the lease should be executed in a week or two. The other two spaces (on the east side of The Hub complex) have not been spoken for as yet.

Inside the 4 Hands space, Cannon Design called for the existing white drop-ceiling soundboard panels to be painted black, so more attention can be paid to a long run of soffit and fascia now clad in a light-colored wood.

Seating is a combination of different-height tables: traditional high-tops, low-tops, low bierhall-style tables, and several 14-foot-long high-top bierhall tables, which help segment the space. An arcade with a shuffleboard court occupies the west wall, delineated by a long beer rail with stools. Above is a mural from Killer Napkins’ Jason Spencer, whose murals appear at the flagship 4 Hands and other Hi-Pointe locations.

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Photography by Kevin A. Roberts

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Photography by Kevin A. Roberts

The Hi-Pointe order counter occupies the back wall, similar to the arrangement at Enterprise Center. “It’s quick, convenient, delicious, and family-friendly,” Hi-Pointe Drive-In president Ben Hillman says.

Adjacent to the counter is a square 60-seat full bar that wraps around into a private event space (85 seated, 120 standing), equipped with its own bar and a TV/AV system, as well as four video games and a shuffleboard court, so “guests that book an event get a mini-version of the rest of the place,” Lemp says. “Plus, they’re even closer to the restrooms.”

Three local artists are represented: muralist Jason Spencer; painter Zach Smithey, and stencilist Peat Wollaeger, who will add a second, larger installation to a focal back wall. “Guests will first see a decorated, decommissioned foeder,” Lemp says, “then Peat’s back wall, then their eyes will slowly spread out to both sides.”

Guests should also pay attention to the sound system. Jay Hanks, of All Access Audio Visual, says that since some of 4 Hands' guests will be coming from a rock show or an outside stage performance, "walking into a basic restaurant speaker system would be off-putting, so we loaded up on in-ceiling speakers for complete coverage at lesser volumes, and added a subwoofer in each zone for that warm feeling of low end to compliment the highs," he says. 

Having hosted two dry-run events in the space this week, Lemp says he was pleased with the layout. “With 30 people inside, it felt good; it didn’t feel empty,” he says. “And with 200 people inside, it didn’t feel crowded.” What excited him most, however, was all of the interactivity outdoors. “Both the outdoor pavilions were full of families, and there were 30 kids kicking a soccer ball around, turning the turf field into a park.”  

The Food

The food menu will be a hybrid from Hi-Pointe and sister concept Chicken Out branded as Hi-Pointe, explains Hillman. “Hi-Pointe and 4 Hands are both high-energy brands, and we are going to have fun pairing burgers and beer together,” Hillman said in a release. “One advantage we have in Chesterfield is space, so the plan is to create more of the out-of-the-box daily specials Hi-Pointe is known for, some that will incorporate 4 Hands’ products, which go far beyond beer,” he adds, referring to the brewery’s lines of ancillary products, including hard seltzers, spirits, and blended whiskey.

Existing dishes (such as Hi-Pointe's all-natural, all-Angus double cheeseburger and Chicken Out's brined, battered, and broasted signature sandwich) will share space with cheeky District-specific items, such as Mozzy Osborne (two giant mozzarella sticks served with marinara), a Frycuterie Board (a rotating ensemble of fried munchies with dipping sauces), and Street Corn Deviled Eggs (all pictured below).

Following the August 31 opening, the complex will be open 11 a.m.–11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight on weekends and during nights when there’s an event at The Factory.

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Courtesy of Hi-Pointe Drive-In

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Courtesy of Hi-Pointe Drive-In

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Courtesy of Hi-Pointe Drive-In

The Drinks

The complex will offer 25 beers on draft, including year-round, seasonal, and new releases. Lemp is excited about the house beer, Quantum Gravity. “Made with thiolized lager yeast and New Zealand hops,” he says, “we wanted this beer to have the same flavor profile as a Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Think gooseberries, tropical fruits, really effervescent, and dry on the palate. We had a good time with this one. This is a really fun beer. I’ve never had anything like it before.”

The Quantum Gravity label has a story to tell as well. “Killer Napkins created a robot hamburger slinging guy for Hi-Pointe’s downtown location and they made a space octopus for us,” Lemp says “Those two characters came together in a mural here, and we used the mural to create the label.” Quantum Gravity will be available at both 4 Hands locations beginning August 31 but will only be available at 4 Hands’ taprooms.

Lemp says other recent releases include a “super crushable” 3 percent ABV beer for Pedal the Cause, a lager with sea salt and lime. And guests can order Parker Pilsner, a collaboration with St. Louis CITY SC all-star center back Tim Parker that's now on local shelves and was launched at CITYPARK on August 30. Lemp describes Parker as “a great guy who helped us brew a great beer, and to “stay tuned for a future event showcasing Tim and this beer.”

The bar will also be stocked with 4 Hands’ line of hard seltzers, Withered Oak blended whiskey, 1220 Spirits, and its five canned cocktails. “We produce gins, vodkas, amaros, and a rye,” Lemp says. “We have to go elsewhere for Scotch, bourbon, and tequila, because it’s important to offer a full range of spirits.”

1220’s array of spirits includes its Origins Expressions line, a collaboration series with local restaurants, including Vicia, Pastaria, and Bar Moro. Among the options from the line:

  • Origin Expressions: Moro Gin (crafted to make the perfect Spanish gin and tonic)
  • Origin Expressions: Pastaria Gin (created with a flavor profile of a Negroni cocktail in mind);
  • Expressions Gin Vicia: Distilled with Croatian Juniper, coriander, English cucumber, lemongrass, bitter melon, grapefruit, lemon verbena, lime, and yuzu, it’s the perfect base for a refreshing summer cocktail.

“They are all one-and-done collaborations,” Lemp says, “but all three are available at 4 Hands at The District and at each respective restaurant.”

4 Hands at The District

17081 North 40 Outer Road, Chesterfield, Missouri 63005

Visit Website

Mon-Thu: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.; Fri- Sat: 11 a.m. - 12 a.m. (and whenever there's an event at The Factory next door)

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