The former home of Kohn’s Kosher Deli in Creve Coeur is springing back to life as Pierce Creek (10405 Old Olive), the latest project from Kent Evans and Rachelle L’Ecuyer of Pierce Creek Cattle Company and The MOObile food truck. The concept centers around locally sourced, ethically raised ingredients—with no added hormones or unnecessary antibiotics—and a mission to highlight regional producers and products. Still in progress, the ambitious concept is slated to eventually include a restaurant, bar, bakery, butcher shop, catering service, and market.
The soft opening period begins July 16, with lunch service from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Lunch is Wednesday through Saturday, 11 AM to 2 PM. The Market will be open until 5 p.m. The MOObile food truck will also be on site on Tuesdays from noon–8 p.m.
Here’s what to know before you go.
The Space
For more than two decades, the 7,400-square-foot building housed Kohn’s Kosher Deli, a storied Creve Coeur establishment that operated as a deli, butcher shop, kosher grocery, and bakery. The kosher facility featured four kitchens, as well as multiple walk-ins, freezers, and a USDA-approved butchery.
Kohn’s closed last July, and Evans and L’Ecuyer acquired the building in late 2024. Their biggest task was how to handle the redesign, reconfiguring the building so all of the different elements—and all of the furniture, fixtures, and equipment included in the purchase—seamlessly flowed together.
“Having so many moving parts means that a lot of it is still in the ‘pardon our progress’ stage,” L’Ecuyer says.
Pierce Creek also benefits from its location in the 39 North district, part of a 600-acre agtech redevelopment area along Old Olive Street Road that’s home to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the Bio Research & Development Growth (BRDG) Park, Bayer, and Helix Center Biotech Incubator.
Pierce Creek will be the first retail business to open that relates to the agribusiness mission. Future enhancements, including a traffic signal at Old Olive and Lindbergh and a walking/biking path, promise easier access and increased foot traffic.
“We’ll eventually have bike racks in front,” Evans says, “welcoming riders during or after their ride.”
The Food
Pierce Creek’s culinary vision revolves around “simple, healthy, elevated comfort food,” says L’Ecuyer.
In addition to signature smashburgers and tallow fries, the expanded kitchen could allow popular specials—for instance, steak frites, smoked brisket, chipotle mayo-encrusted grilled cheese, and beignets—to become regular menu staples.
Heading up the kitchen is Max Crask, whose résumé includes stints at Madrina, The Dubliner, and Tripel Brasserie. He’s also the co-founder of Ices Plain & Fancy, the first St. Louis ice cream shop to use liquid nitrogen as a freezing agent and to create a cold smoke show in the process.
At Pierce Creek, Crask has created a lunch menu featuring sandwiches and burgers made with Pierce Creek Cattle Company beef and locally sourced pork and poultry.
Keith Smith—formerly of Kohn’s—returns with a case full of fresh-baked goods, while market manager Jamie Schmitt curates a sampling of fresh produce from area farmers.
Lenny Kohn himself is contributing deli staples, including his signature pastrami reuben.
Shoppers will also find frozen beef cuts, COMA coffee, Excel sodas, and, soon, ice cream from Ices Plain & Fancy.
L’Ecuyer says the inaugural lunch menu is “a good introduction to what Pierce Creek will be: mostly sandwiches but something for everyone, even early on.”
Options include a Blackened Redfish Roll, Beef Birria (with Oaxaca cheese and garlic chili consomme), a Benton’s BLT (made with Benton’s bacon, bib lettuce, and Missouri heirloom tomatoes), and the show-stopping BPT, which Crask describes as a “modest” Breaded Pork Tenderloin, served with standard burger garnish on a burger bun.
It was The MOObile’s smashburger that first put Evans and L’Ecuyer on the local burger map. At Pierce Creek, the signature burger returns in five variations, including one topped with roasted local mushrooms, Swiss cheese, and a buttermilk dill sauce.
Operations will begin with lunch service, followed by breakfast, a full bar, catering, and, eventually, dinner. The other components—the butcher shop, bakery, and retail market—are at the “little bit of everything stage” at present, L’Ecuyer says—a “lite version” of what will eventually be offered.
“Pierce Creek is going to be something special,” Crask adds. “We’ve got an onsite bakery, a butcher shop, our own cattle farm, and a full kitchen—all under one roof. That gives us a lot of flexibility. We’re not limited to the same cuts of meat or types of bread as everyone else, so we can really do things our way. We’re moving quickly, so the opening will happen in stages, almost like a series of previews. I couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead.”
The Background
In 2018, Evans and L’Ecuyer became the fourth generation to operate Pierce Creek Farm in Lonedell, Missouri. Within a year, they founded Pierce Creek Cattle Company, starting with a herd of 35 cows on the 240-acre farm. Their pasture-raised beef, free of added hormones and antibiotics, is processed locally and delivered to customers and restaurants within an hour radius of St. Louis.
In 2022, the couple launched Pierce Creek Food Services, anchored by The MOObile food truck. Known for smashburgers, beef tallow fries, and rotating specials, The MOObile quickly gained a loyal following, even securing a 30-day pop-up stint over the holidays at West County Center’s food court. “Once people sampled a tallow-cooked french fry, they were hooked,” says Evans.
Pierce Creek’s mission is to “build a food services company focused on healthy, locally sourced ingredients while being mindful of environmental impact and quality of life,” explains L’Ecuyer.
Likewise, the bar program will focus on local spirits and beer once Pierce Creek’s liquor license is approved.
“If it’s not local, it’s as local as possible and ethically sourced,” says Evans. “That’s the one promise we can make.”
📍10405 Old Olive, Creve Coeur
📞314-900-1424
⏰ Breakfast, 8 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.; lunch, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Happy Hour (Tue-Fri), 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
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