The St. Louis burger scene will soon be a little less delicious. Burger Champ (2704 Sutton), the smashburger and shakes restaurant that restaurateur Chris Kelling opened last November in Maplewood, is closing. Burger Champ’s last day of service is this Friday, June 21.
Kelling announced the news in an Instagram post last night, stating that the reason for the closure had to do with the space. (The roughly 3,500-square-foot storefront in the heart of Maplewood’s business district was formerly home to his upscale restaurant, Elmwood.)
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“Simply put, the space is too big for the concept and the resources needed to continue are past the point of sustainability,” the post read, in part. “There is no other concept coming from us in this space.”
Reached for comment, Kelling tells SLM that it was evident pretty quickly that the large dining room was not an ideal fit for the Burger Champ concept. “We knew the odds were against us going in,” says Kelling. “It’s just a huge space, and while our signage is big and the building is bright, it’s just a little tucked away. It’s a space built for a different concept. I know that. I helped build the space, so I know what it was built for.”
As Kelling explains, however, he had a lease and an idea for the Burger Champ brand, so it made sense to put it there and see how things went. In the end, they went pretty well, all things considered.
“Honestly, we knew pretty early on that this would have a different home once the lease ran out, but one of our goals was proof of concept, and I think we achieved that,” says Kelling. “The response was great. Every day, I’d have someone tell me that this is their favorite burger. It happened yesterday all day. I say that with the utmost humility. I’d tell people, ‘Great, now tell everyone you know,’ and we were seeing incremental growth, but it was just not enough. We were spending resources that just weren’t sustainable.”
Kelling opened Burger Champ last November, converting Elmwood’s sleek, modern dining room into a family-friendly spot for burgers, fries, shakes, and ice cream. The change was borne out of necessity; the room had been dormant since Elmwood closed at the start of the pandemic in 2020, and Kelling had seen diners’ preferences shift toward more casual options. With no plans to reopen Elmwood, he and then-partner Adam Altnether noticed a void in Maplewood’s burger scene and decided to convert the space into a lively burger joint.
They had reason to be bullish. Althenter and Kelling found great success with their takeout pizza brand, Pizza Champ, just around the corner, which they originally opened as a pop-up out of Elmwood’s dormant space in August 2020. Finding success with the concept, they opened Pizza Champ two years later in a standalone space, where it continues to be one of the most popular pizza brands in the area.
Kelling hoped to parlay that success into burgers and shakes at Burger Champ, bringing in chef Jeff Friesen for a time to help him on the food side after Altnether departed and consulting with pastry chef Matthew Rice on a line on creative ice cream concoctions. Unlike Pizza Champ’s bare-bones, outdoors-only, tiny space, however, the sprawling Burger Champ was up against different odds and, despite its popularity, was unable to overcome its size handicap.
Fans of Burger Champ have reason for optimism though, as Kelling teases a possible continuation of burgers. “You’ll see burgers from us again in some form at some point—but for now, catch us tonight through Friday,” said Kelling in the post.
When pressed about future plans, Kelling would only disclose that he hopes to continue offering Burger Champ’s dishes in a different capacity. “I am super grateful for the support we’ve received, and I hope to bring it back to the people who have supported it,” says Kelling.
That’s part of the reason that Kelling decided to stay open through Friday. As he explains, he considered closing the restaurant last week, but he felt that it was important to give people a chance to say goodbye—at least for now.
“Our plan was to close last Saturday after service,” says Kelling. “We ran out of some things and were telling our guests we are out of this and that. It felt that was a disingenuous way to say goodbye to the people who have supported us for 10 months here, at Pizza Champ, and at Elmwood. Now, we can tell them that if they want one last burger, come on in.”
