Claytonites now have a new breakfast-and-lunch restaurant to crow about.
The third location of Rooster (178 Carondelet Plaza) officially opens today at the former Whitebox Eatery, which closed almost six years ago. Owners Dave and Kara Bailey took over the adjacent GolfTec space as well, creating a 165-seat restaurant that includes two private rooms. The inaugural hours are 8 a.m.–2 p.m. daily. Here’s what to know before you go.
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The Location
Dave and Kara Bailey operate Baileys’ Restaurants, one of the most prolific restaurant groups in the city. To date, all of its restaurants—including two Rooster locations—have been within the St. Louis City limits, but Dave says they’ve been “looking in the county—and definitely at this site” for a while. But construction issues and building Baileys’ Range on Shaw (which took far longer to complete than originally planned) delayed Rooster’s expansion plans.
“We kept hearing how much Clayton wanted more breakfast and brunch places,” Dave says, adding that he’s always been drawn to the heavy density, central location, and that the Carondelet Plaza area has “tons of parking and is super walkable,” which is important for a breakfast-and-lunch restaurant.
The Atmosphere
The interior is as bright and cheery as Rooster’s other locations—with similar murals, boldly colored furniture, and light-colored tabletops—but has its own personality.
One standout design element is the use of blond wood tones, showcased in a custom poplar bar top by David Stine Furniture and matching wood trim, the latter installed and finished by Kara’s brother, who also put the finishing touches on the Boos Block tabletops used throughout the space.
Another distinctive feature is a long peek-a-boo wall, which provides a roosting area for tchotchkes and helps separate the bar and to-go pickup area from the dining room proper.
Scott Pondrom’s dramatic, wall-size abstract rooster murals make a strong visual statement throughout the dining rooms, private areas, and even a back hallway, where a rooster tail design trails along. Pondrom’s artwork is also a focal point at Baileys’ Range on Shaw.
Where there aren’t murals, walls are adorned with whimsical black-and-white rooster artwork drawn by a third-grade class, a charming design element that has become a signature of the Rooster brand.
Despite the spacious feel, the Clayton location seats 165 guests—slightly smaller than the South Grand location and the same size as the downtown branch.
The Menu
The food and beverage menus largely mirror the other locations, though some minor tweaks are planned. “We recently added a seasonal section to the menu,” Kara notes, which includes a cranberry crepe, pumpkin pancakes, and a sweet potato latte (all pictured below). A few location-specific items, “beginning with a quiche or two,” are planned as well.
Best-sellers include the basics—the farmer’s platter, the slinger options, French toast, and pancakes—and, of course, the crepes, which were signature items on the original menu.
An entire page of the Rooster menu is dedicated to drinks, from coffee and Big Heart Tea to cocktails, mimosas, and 20-ounce bloodies.
The service model will be familiar, offering full table service for breakfast and lunch seven days a week, along with carryout options. Tables at all Rooster locations are first come, first serve, with the option to jump on a digital wait list once the restaurant is full.
Additional services are available as well, such as on- and off-site catering, which Dave anticipates will be a major contributor to the new location’s success.
“Beyond the private dining rooms, any part of the restaurant can be rented after hours for various events,” he explains. “Guests can choose from our catering menu, menus from our other restaurants, or we can create a custom-themed menu.”
The Background
Dave and Kara Bailey opened the flagship Rooster in 2006 in a former barber shop at the corner of 11th and Locust, a space that they almost immediately outgrew. Over the years, the crepes, salads, and sandwiches menu blossomed into full-on breakfast, lunch, and brunch options, along with myriad drinks, including cocktails, bloodies, mimosas, and beers.
What started as a 21-seat café grew to 190 seats over the years, Dave told SLM a few years ago, when prep and production issues in a “closet-sized kitchen space” forced a change in venue to the former Dubliner location (1025 Washington), just over 500 feet away. The relocated Rooster location opened in December 2021 and has since surpassed pre-pandemic volume, according to Dave.
In the interim, in 2014, a second Rooster location opened along South Grand in a large, mid-century modern former bank building. The sophomore location boasts a three-tiered dining area, featuring rooster art from a third-grade class, as well as a large patio with an acre of picnic tables.
The third Rooster location may not be the last, according to Dave, who likes the breakfast-and-lunch model and is always looking for ways to expand.
Beyond Rooster, Baileys’ Restaurants now includes a number of additional concepts: Baileys’ Chocolate Bar, Bridge Tap House & Wine Bar, Baileys’ Range, and Small Batch, as well as The Fifth Wheel Catering and two event spaces, Willow and Slate.
