Michael and Meredith Shadwick are adding another beloved Kirkwood eatery to their portfolio. The couple—who also own Honey Bee’s Biscuits + Good Eats, Spencer’s Grill, and Tropical Moose Shaved Ice—recently took over operations of Walk Away Waffles, the Belgian waffle truck that’s long been a staple at the Kirkwood Farmers Market.
The Shadwicks purchased Walk Away Waffles from longtime owners Jack and Pat Williams, who also opened Tropical Moose more than 20 years ago and are planning a soft launch at the Kirkwood Farmers’ Market this Saturday.
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Here’s what to know about the changing of hands at Walk Away Waffles, as well as the Shadwicks’ plans to further expand their restaurant portfolio in Kirkwood.
The Concept
Jack and Pat Williams opened Walk Away Waffles more than a decade ago to complement their seasonal business at Tropical Moose. The bright-blue 1958 International Harvester truck amassed a following for its “Belgian sugar waffles,” also known as Liege-style waffles.
A type of Belgian waffle, Liege-style waffles are made with a yeasted dough (as opposed to a batter), which gives them a dense, chewy texture, and pearl sugar, which gives them their signature crunchy, caramelized crust. At Walk Away Waffles, they’re served warm with fruits and flavorings mixed directly into the dough—think chocolate chip, apple-cinnamon and peach, as well as seasonal flavors such as gingerbread and candy cane. Diners can also opt to add sausage or bacon to any waffle, as well as dipping sauces including maple syrup, blueberry syrup, strawberry syrup, and chocolate sauce.
“They’re delicious, and they’re so fun,” Michael says. “I like that we put all the toppings on the inside, and they’ve got that really crunchy pearl sugar mixed right into the waffle per order, so the sugar doesn’t break down and you get that full crystallized bite of sugar.” And then there’s the recipe itself. “As far as waffles go, this is a lot more of a dough than a batter,” adds Michael. “It’s yeasted and really high-quality. The way that Jack has kept up with cooking them, people really like them, and the flavors are super fun.”
Before the waffle irons officially turned over, Michael spent about four weekends on the Walk Away Waffles truck with Jack to learn the ropes. In keeping with tradition, he and Meredith plan to have Walk Away Waffles at the Kirkwood Farmers’ Market every Saturday, and the couple is excited to start bringing the truck to the market on Sundays by mid- to late August. The truck is also available to book for private events.
For the Shadwicks, who originally launched Honey Bee’s as a food truck at the farmers’ market and now own Tropical Moose, the Kirkwood Farmers’ Market is a special place. “We love the Kirkwood market,” Meredith says. “I’ve been going to the Kirkwood market since I was a little girl, and then, of course, I worked there as a high schooler and college student. It’s just a great community spot, especially on Saturday, with all the different vendors. We really got our start there with Honey Bee’s, so it’ll be fun. I’m excited to go back and see some of our customers who go every Saturday. This will be a nice reunion for us in a way.”
The Menu
Much like when they recently took over Spencer’s Grill, the Shadwicks don’t plan to change much about Walk Away Waffles, particularly when it comes to the menu. They’ll initially launch with a smaller menu, with plans to incorporate the rest of the full menu over the next few weeks.
For their soft opening weekend on the truck, expect such classics as plain, chocolate chip, salted caramel, birthday cake and apple-cinnamon, as well as a seasonal peach special in honor of the Kirkwood Peach Festival on July 19.
While discerning customers might notice some small tweaks—such as ground sausage in place of halved sausage patties—the menu will, by and large, remain the same. That said, the Shadwicks plan to add a few new items over the next few weeks and months. Thanks to the addition of a Blackstone flattop, they’ll be introducing waffle sandwiches—such as a fried egg and cheese or sausage, egg and cheese on a waffle—and a waffle smash burger. They’re also adding an outdoor fryer to make waffles with fried chicken, and they plan to eventually add Honey Bee’s famous gravy to the menu.
The few other operational changes that the Shadwicks plan to make will likely be welcome ones for longtime fans. While Walk Away Waffles has always been cash only, the truck will accept credit card payments. The couple also plans to increase inventory to avoid selling out, which, as Michael notes, is a testament to the quality of the waffles.
The Owners
Michael got his start in the restaurant industry as a delivery driver for Imo’s Pizza, while Meredith, who grew up in Kirkwood, worked at Tropical Moose in high school. The couple launched their first food business, Honey Bee’s Biscuits, as a food truck at the Kirkwood Farmers’ Market before opening a brick-and-mortar location in Kirkwood in 2022.
That same year, they expanded their restaurant portfolio when they took over Tropical Moose from the Williamses. And last year, the Shadwicks planted even more roots in Kirkwood when they took over the 77-year-old institution Spencer’s Grill. As they told SLM at the time, they are passionate about consulting with or taking over classic restaurants, which made the decision to buy Walk Away Waffles an easy one.
Looking forward, the Shadwicks, who have coined their restaurant group Hive Mind Hospitality, plan to further expand their reach in Kirkwood with a new warehouse, office, and commissary kitchen to centralize operations for their restaurants. The couple is currently building out the new location, which will allow them to streamline operations, offer consulting work, and expand their retail products.
“All of our businesses will be housed in the same building together, and it will make it easier to unite our brands,” Michael says. “We’re streamlining our back end right now, so we can do a lot more with our brands and collaborate with other people, too. While we’re bringing all of our brands together and putting them all under this hospitality group, part of the commissary will also be other services like consulting restaurants on things like operations and maintenance.”
Meredith is particularly excited to finally have an official office space for administrative tasks and deliveries and to have the ability to start offering more retail products from the various Hive Mind concepts, such as biscuit mix from Honey Bee’s, pancake mix from Spencer’s, and waffle mix from Walk Away Waffles. The pair also plans to start producing waffles for wholesale, starting with a test run at Spencer’s next month.
“As someone who’s worked in kitchens myself, one thing that I’ve always run into is that every cook or chef I’ve worked with, we’ve all complained about waffle irons,” Michael says. “One of our goals with Walk Away Waffles is to launch a frozen waffle line that basically reheats with the equipment you already have in your kitchen, and it’s really focused on a commercial customer; it’s not necessarily branded for home customers. I feel like there’s a really solid niche for easy waffles in restaurants, and it’s a market that doesn’t really get tapped on a local level.”
