After nearly five years of slinging burrito-size sushi rolls, poke bowls, and wonton nachos, locally owned and operated fast-casual concept BLK MKT Eats is expanding to the former Las Palmas space at 7356 Manchester in Maplewood.
Co-owner Ron Turigliatto anticipates an opening date “early in the new year.” JugoPlus Architects has been tapped to handle the buildout for the 1,420-square-foot space. “Once construction begins, we’re looking at several months,” Turigliatto says.
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Turigliatto says he and co-founder Kati Fahrney had been looking to expand for almost four years, with the pandemic delaying the search, though they “feel very good about this location,” Turigliatto says. After recently attending the Let Them Eat Art event, the partners were even more excited. “People were thrilled to see us,” Turigliatto says. “They were as pumped as we were.”
The Background
Turigliatto and Fahrney first launched the concept five years ago. Located near Saint Louis University’s campus, on the border of the Central West End and Midtown, BLK MKT Eats opened its flagship location at 9 S. Vandeventer in 2017. Word spread quickly, with lines snaking out the door of the 1,000-square-foot-shop.
Customers queue up to select one of 10 signature varieties of sushi bowl, giant rolls (including the best-selling OG Fire Salmon Burrito), or wonton chip–based nachos, all made to order and packaged for dine-in or to-go.
When looking for a second location, he says, it was important to have two things that were lacking at the flagship location: more dine-in seating and more parking. The Maplewood location offered both.
“There’s 40 percent more square footage, which means more seats,” Turigliatto says, “plus a huge parking lot in the rear—with multiple cut-throughs—and a lot across the street, parking on the street, and we’re located in a walkable neighborhood. Plus, BLK MKT Eats fills a need for quick serve, fast-casual, healthy concept in that immediate area. It’s everything we wanted.”
