Say the word “Fitz’s” to an older St. Louisan, and chances are you’ll get a smile, followed by a story or six. About flat-grilled cheeseburgers topped with an addictive substance known “kitchen sauce.” Or about homemade root beer served in frosty, better-use-two-hands mugs. Or about the original Fitz’s Drive-In in Richmond Heights, where waiting cars faced the neon-orange shack and signs urged its occupants to “Flash lights for service. Please do not sound horn,” a caution likely devised by the carhops who’d heard more than their share.
Younger St. Louisans can relate too, with stories of the Loop location, where the big kids shoot pool upstairs and little ones trace the maze of bottles on the vintage bottling line. Table games run the gamut from betting on “Who’s Gonna Eat That Last Pickle Chip?” to “Name All the Soda Flavors.” (There are currently 18.)
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Beginning today, the fun, games, and nostalgia continue in a different part of town, at a new facility and bottling plant, dubbed Fitz’s SoCo, located at 5244 S. Lindbergh, in the new Gathering Square Development just north of Ronnie’s Plaza.
Owner Michael Alter says a South County location made sense for several reasons. “The area has always been loyal to the brand,” he says. “The Fitz’s demographic is families, and South County is nothing but.” And then there’s the nearby family-friendly attractions, such as Grant’s Farm and The Magic House. “All that…that’s why we’re here,” he shrugs.
In a release, Alter explained that his wife also graduated from Lindbergh High School and his son played hockey at the Affton rink. He also feels that South County has been underserved by independent, locally owned restaurants, hence his reasoning that “locating here was right in so many ways.”
The focal point of the 9,000-square foot, 220-seat space is the white marble-faced dairy bar, where modern-day soda jerks whip up shakes and floats, and pour bottomless mugs of draft soda in the five most popular flavors—root beer, diet root beer, black cherry soda, cream soda, and Cardinal cream (“more fruity and bubble gumm-y,” according to Alter). “It’s back to the ’40s, that’s where we’re from,” he says of a journey that he sees as back to the future.
Bottled soda is also available, emanating from a large cooler that houses all 18 flavors, including two diet flavors (root beer and cream soda) and two collaborations (Kaldi’s Coffee Cola and a ginger beer originally made for Pi Pizza). “The marketplace’s desire for more variety drives the number of flavors,” Alter says. “Root beer is the flavor for me and always has been, but people not familiar with the history and brand prefer other flavors.” The newest flavor (being introduced this spring but available at the restaurant now) is Peach Pop, made with natural peach flavors.
The space is separated into a dining room and a bar area, on a raised platform. There are TVs in the bar but not in the main room, a salute to Alter’s family values. “There are enough distractions as it is when dining out with friends and family,” he says. “I see no reason to add to that.”
The decor straddles the line between industrial and homespun rustic: A honey-colored beadboard wainscot is present throughout, the shelves in the retail area are made of rough-cut pine, and monster fans whirl overhead. A mural of Louis IX welcomes guests, sans sword. “It’s a family place,” says Alter, “so we got rid of the sword and gave him a root beer.” If it looks like a cross between a bottling plant and homey burger joint, then Alter’s design plan was successful.
At the bar, hard liquor and wine is also available, but the emphasis is on soda and a dozen kinds of regional craft beer. “We’re as local and as storied as a place can be,” Alter says, referring to Fitz’s 72-year history in the city. “That’s always been a cornerstone, and we want people to always think of us that way.”
Alter is proud of the fact that the root beer recipe has remained exactly the same over the years. It’s a complex blend of extra-fine granulated cane sugar and more than 14 botanicals, including sassafras root, wild cherry bark, birch bark, star anise, and vanilla bean. “Despite my accountant’s advice, we’ve never changed that recipe,” Alter quips.
Same goes for the burger, which is the same as it ever was. The secret, he says, is using a top-of-the-line, super-high-heat, quick-recovery, flat-top griddle. “That, and we season the meat the moment it hits the grill,” he says. “Not before and not after.”
More than half of Fitz’s food sales are from burgers and barbecue, but don’t overlook the turkey club, made with hand-carved, thick-cut, house-smoked turkey breast, and the best-deal-in-the house Scottish fish and chips, two huge Schlafly Pale Ale–battered haddock fillets—with fries and slaw—for $12.99. “Value is an important component of a family-oriented restaurant, Alter says. “For us, it’s critical.”
For more privacy and to accommodate large parties, there’s a private room for 50 that can be split in two. “In the Loop, Alter says it’s not uncommon for someone to walk in and nonchalantly say, ‘I’ll have a table for 30,’ and we’d find a way to seat them. Here, we’re ready for that guy.”
Spiegelglass Construction built the interior, as the property’s landlord is readying a new entrance and a 50-seat patio. But Alter’s really excited about the large porte-cochere. He envisions a waiting area with a fire pit or three-season dining. “The other thing I’d like to see is a Fitz’s bottle,” he says, “in full neon, like the Imo’s guy you can see from Highway 40.”
Over the years, Alter’s involvement with the Fitz’s brand has varied. After opening the flagship location in the Delmar Loop in 1993, two subsequent locations met with limited success, opening and then closing. After selling the company to an investment group in 1999, he bought it back in 2010 with the intention of increasing distribution, developing new flavors, and increasing the brand’s presence in local restaurants, all of which he’s done.
The new location is a continuance of that mission. “Fitz’s is Americana,” Alter says. “It was that way before the word was coined. The bottle label is red, white, and blue. That didn’t happen by accident.”
