One of St. Louis’ hottest restaurants is making a big move—up the street.
Mainlander, the acclaimed supper club founded in 2023 by partners Blake Askew and Gordon Chen, will soon relocate from its current address near Euclid and Laclede avenues to the former Salt + Smoke location at 392 N. Euclid. Although no firm date for the relocation is set yet, Askew hopes to be open in the new space by mid-February.
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According to Askew, the move is something that happened quickly but has been in the back of his and Chen’s minds for some time. “This, first and foremost, is about how we feel the need to slightly scale up our concept in order to reach more people and to accommodate those who have become regulars,” says Askew. “Sometimes, it’s difficult for them to get in. To be able to take advantage of this opportunity and widen our footprint in the community is a big part of the reason we are doing this.”
The Move
Askew says he and Chen have been exploring the idea of a move for a while. With occupied spots on both sides of the existing restaurant, as well as no basement or upstairs space available, there was no room to grow in the current location. Things escalated a couple of months ago, however, when the opportunity arose for them to take over the space on North Euclid that previously housed Salt + Smoke, which abruptly closed, along with several other businesses on the block, following a fire in January 2022.
The move appealed to Askew and Chen, in part because it afforded them more space but also because it allows them to be stewards of an important legacy: The storefront once housed the iconic Duff’s restaurant, a gone-but-not-forgotten piece of St. Louis’ restaurant history that served guests from 1972 to 2013.
“The historic aspect of the space is important to us,” says Askew. “I think the Duff’s connection really speaks to the spirit of what we want to do as a whole: to play with this idea of harkening back to the roots of the restaurant culture in this town and honoring that in our own way. Nobody is ever going to reopen the old Mainlander or the old Duff’s just like they were, but you can still remember it. That is something we want to carry on.”
The New Space
With a much larger footprint, the forthcoming Mainlander location will allow Askew and Chen to expand upon their concept, something Askew describes as an augmentation, not a change. Customers will still be able to experience the Mainlander supper club prix-fixe menu they’ve come to love in a formal dining room toward the back of the space, alongside the décor that currently decorates the original restaurant. Askew promises it will remain just as intimate, with the new room accommodating roughly eight more diners than the current digs.
The biggest change will be the addition of a bar concept. Guests will enter the restaurant into a bar and lounge area that will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis. There, they can linger over a cocktail before dinner or make an entire meal out of drinks and a la carte snacks. Drink options will consist of several new and rotating concoctions, as well as offerings that diners have seen throughout Mainlander’s run. As for food, expect a casual menu of veggie plates, sandwiches, and small dishes that draw upon what is being served in the dining room. “It’s going to be bar food, Mainlander-style,” says Askew.
Askew and Chen plan to extend their no-tipping policy to the new bar and lounge area. Askew notes that it has been fairly easily received with the way they currently do prepaid reservations, and he’s excited to see how it translates to a more traditional a la carte service. “If you pay cash for a drink, you will get change,” says Askew. “We’re going to make a go of it. A lot of people told us we couldn’t do it when we opened, and we have done it. I think people appreciate it. There are a million little things that add up to what people like about us, and I think this is one of them.”
The Backstory
After working in the kitchens of some of the country’s most acclaimed chefs, including Wolfgang Puck and Dominique Crenn, Askew relocated to St. Louis with the vision of opening a restaurant of his own. Here, he spent time getting to know the area’s culinary scene while working at Bulrush and doing extensive research and a series of pop-ups related to mid-century-era restaurants and cocktail bars.
In July 2023, Askew and Chen opened Mainlander, with an almost speakeasy-like vibe. as an immersive dining experience that masterfully blends nostalgia with modern techniques, earning critical acclaim, including a semifinalist nod from the James Beard Foundation’s national award for Best New Restaurant in 2024.
Askew and Chen have been heartened by the way they’ve been embraced by the community. With this move, they hope to create even more possibilities in the future.
“This move will allow us to do more of what we want to do,” says Askew. “The team and I have viewed this first year as an extension of our pop-ups, and this is the next step. We’ve talked about this since Day 1, that this was just one step along the way. Ultimately, we want to build something that amounts to a small company in this town and to be a bigger part of the community.”
