Circle 7 Ranch to open in Des Peres this March

Circle 7 Ranch Taphouse & Grill debuted five years ago in Ballwin as the first in the state to offer personal table taps—meaning customers can pour their own draft beer right where they sit.

Pete Ferretti and Buddy Coy, the restaurateurs who own Mandarin Lounge and The Pepper Lounge, will open the second Circle 7 in Des Peres at 11769 Manchester. After delays caused by possible parking issues—or, as Ferretti describes it, the city of Des Peres “doing their due diligence”—construction on the site is underway, and the restaurant aims to open in March.

“We wanted to be about five miles from the first location,” Ferretti says of expanding. “This space had the footprint we liked, and it’s in a great area near Kirkwood, Webster, St. Clement’s parish. It made the most sense.”

Courtesy of Circle 7 Ranch

Courtesy of Circle 7 Ranch

Ferretti adds that, aside from a few operational updates, not much will be different at this new location. And that refers to both the food and drink menu. So fear not, the lauded El Borracho burger (made with Angus beef patties, bacon, queso blanco, and candied jalapeños) will make the journey. Those small updates, he says, include a larger, separate area for to-go orders and a larger, more streamlined kitchen.

Ferretti says to expect six tables with four taps each (two for mainstream beers and two for craft beers). “We have nine table taps at the original location, but with the way the basement is laid out in this building—there’s a yoga studio in the basement—we couldn’t have all the taps running that we wanted,” he says.

The Des Peres location, though, is about 25 percent bigger than the Ballwin one at nearly 5,300 square feet. It’ll seat 295 and have a covered pergola area off the front of the building, as well as a private dining area.

“We wanted to make it as close to the same business model as the first,” Ferretti says.

Personal taps and loaded burgers in a spacious hangout…plus a patio? It’s not hard to imagine why.