The former Milagro Modern Mexican is located at 20 Allen Avenue in Webster Groves.
Chances are local diners have visited (or at least heard of) Layla, but not all may be aware of its history. In 2013, Jason and Maria Sparks purchased the fledgling Layla Lebanese Restaurant at 4317 Manchester in the heart of the Grove. They shortened the name to Layla and expanded the food and beverage offerings. Jason Sparks, a fine dining chef by trade, boldly added gourmet burgers to the Middle Eastern mix, stepped on the local/seasonal pedal, and enlisted the services of craft cocktail king Tony Saputo (now with The Benevolent King in Maplewood) to raise the beverage bar.
The improbable concept clicked. Layla’s new tagline—Burgers | Shawarma | Cocktails | Shakes—is a head-scratcher, but it works. Sparks hopes it will work again in the suburbs. The couple is opening a second location in the former Milagro Modern Mexican at 20 Allen, where they hope to recreate the laid back/indulge yourself neighborhood vibe.
In September, Layla’s five-year birthday party included “bands, booze, burgers, burlesque, a dunking booth, a cakewalk, music, and games.” Sparks admits he’ll “smooth out the rough edges” for the move west, but the menu will remain 75 to 80 percent the same. Only some “location-specific items” will be added.
Sparks recently updated Layla's dinner menu in the Grove (adding new burgers, apps, and salads), as well as a new brunch menu including some vegan items.
Sparks says Layla’s “fast, fresh, healthy” reputation should be a natural for Webster Groves. The food menu is a hodgepodge of hummus, crispy kale, falafel fries, salads, several different types of shawarma, plus 20 kinds of cleverly named burgers. Sparks observes that in Webster, there isn’t much competition in the burger game, a factor that he hopes will lure diners and overcome the back-of-the-shopping-center, next-to-the-railroad tracks location. Owner Adam Tilford once referred to Milagro as “an amazing restaurant in a terrible location."
Sparks thinks that the combination of Layla’s shotgun food/beverage offerings and its reputation can overcome any spatial obstacles and feels that the burger component may be the secret weapon. In the Grove, Sparks says the top three selling burgers are The Standard; the Jane Says (the signature vegetarian burger made with lentil and beets); and the Unicorn (a vegan offering made with plant-based Impossible “meat”), which he thinks will be repeated in the healthy-leaning suburb. “Who knows? Those numbers might even switch up a bit,” he says.
The interior at Milagro Modern Mexican. "I wish all the laser-cut steel fit in with the Layla concept," Sparks says, lamenting his decision to remove it.
Sparks says the Milagro space was well-designed (i.e., with traffic flow in mind) and therefore will require minimal build-out. And the timing could not have been better. Layla’s early year opening means that he and his wife will then have time to focus on a previously-announced project, Sumax (a play on sumac, the popular crimson-colored Middle Eastern spice), a fast-casual extension of their "fresh, fast, healthy" mantra, opening at the City Foundry food hall in late 2019. Sumax will feature hummus, falafel, and wraps (both smoked meat and vegetarian) served in freshly made, grilled pita bread.
“This will be a busy year for us,” Sparks says of 2019, “and we have more we could do.”
