The sudden announcement that Brennan’s would close its current location and possibly relocate within the Central West End came as a bit of a shock earlier this week, since to many of us, after 17 years in business, 4659 Maryland was and forever will be (and should be) Brennan’s. Owner Kevin Brennan said in a release that “word got around about this big change sooner than we’d hoped,” and that “we look forward to the challenge of creating something new and original that still feels like something old and familiar,” later admitting to St. Louis Magazine that “it’s pretty surreal. Hopefully, we can build something interesting for the next 20 or so years.”
No one should have been surprised.
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The Saint Louis Chess Club and Scholastic Center (4657 Maryland) had been Brennan’s neighbor since 2008. In 2015, the CWE location of Lester’s (4651 Maryland) was purchased by the club and promptly became the flagship of Kingside Diner, a chess-themed eatery.
So when KSDK announced last night that Culpepper’s was closing its CWE location, effective immediately, the Central West End North Community Improvement District issued a release today saying The Saint Louis Chess Club would be expanding its campus by leasing three contiguous properties—Brennan’s, Culpeppers, and the vacant FroYo.
In an email to the Riverfront Times, a Chess Club representative said “the additional space will allow the Saint Louis Chess Club to provide unparalleled exposure, support and educational programming for chess enthusiasts at home and abroad” and that “we look forward to announcing more about how this expansion will benefit this city and region.”
While no timetable has been announced for the expansion plans, Brennan says he plans to remain open until the spring, adding that “he knows one thing for sure, the next three months will be a wild ride.”
