A decade ago, Adam Alagna came to his brother, Ben, with what he knew was a brilliant idea: Why not create a fast-casual concept based on their family’s storied Italian restaurant, Fratelli’s? Now, that dream has finally become reality with their new restaurant, Sauci Pasta (1990 1st Capitol Drive, St. Charles), which recently opened in St. Charles.
The plan was to quietly open to friends and family, then do an official grand opening in August. Word spread much quicker than the Alagna brothers anticipated, however, with lines out the door. They admit that it’s a faster rollout than they’d anticipated, but they also acknowledge that it’s proof there is a hunger for casual, handmade, fresh Italian fare. “The whole idea is that everything is simple, raw and transparent,” says Adam. “Everything is made from scratch in the open kitchen. We’re not hiding anything.”
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Sauci Pasta is currently open most evenings beginning at 4 p.m. Customers are encouraged to check social media for details. Additional hours, including lunch service, are in the works. So far, the restaurant has been selling out of sauces and fresh pastas on a regular basis, so the owners encourage customers to have patience as they build up capacity.
In the meantime, here’s what to know before you go.
The Concept
Having grown up in their father and uncle’s restaurant, Fratelli’s, Adam and Ben understand the importance of starting with quality ingredients and making as much as possible from scratch. This is the foundation of Sauci’s fast-casual model. A restaurant in the mold of build-your-own concepts such as Chipotle, Sauci features customizable bowls, as well as a handful of composed pastas and salads. Unlike most fast-casual restaurants where dishes are put together directly from a steam table, however, all of the pastas at Sauci are composed, then cooked to order in front of guests in a pan, so the flavors blend together and the taste is ultra fresh. The goal, the brothers explain, is to offer chef-driven, high-end food at a reasonable price in an accessible manner.
That approach is evident the moment that you walk into the restaurant. Breezy and outfitted in white with red accents, the vibe is as fresh as the food. Light concrete floors and exposed black-painted ductwork give the open space a loft-like feeling, while blonde wood tables, chairs, and banquettes make the room feel light. Whimsical artwork depicting ancient and Renaissance-style Italian statues and landmarks are made lively, thanks to the addition of red modern elements like sunglasses and headphones. It’s a fun touch that draws upon the brothers’ backgrounds in marketing, branding, and film.
“We had the Sauci logo done years ago, but the final vibe really came together about a year ago,” says Ben. “At first, we thought about doing something bizarre, like astronauts eating pasta, but then we stumbled upon the idea of Roman statues, which felt classic and timeless, so we splashed our own edge on it with the red items.”
Although the artwork conveys the easy, casual point, the embodiment of Sauci’s philosophy is a large pasta maker that creates all of the fresh pasta served at the restaurant. “We wanted this to be right here, in the center, because it’s telling the story of who we are,” says Adam.
Guests enter the restaurant, walk around the pasta machine, and queue up to an open kitchen, where they customize their orders and watch as their food is made right before their eyes. “These are the same sauces as at Fratelli’s and fresh pasta,” says Ben, “but it’s just done in a more casual way.”
The Menu
Customizable bowls are the foundation of Sauci’s menu. Guests first choose their noodle (spaghetti, fettucini, rigatoni, canestri, fusilli, or zucchini noodles), then pick the sauce (red, white, meat, pomodoro, pesto, or rosé), and finish their dishes with a variety of accouterments (proteins such as meatballs and chicken, vegetables such as broccoli and roasted red peppers, or various cheeses and breadcrumbs). Sauci also offers pre-composed bowls, such as classic spaghetti and meatballs, rigatoni carbonara, and deconstructed lasagna (made with mafalda pasta, mushrooms, onions, meat sauce, and three cheeses: mozzarella, salted ricotta, and Provel).
The restaurant has tried to be cognizant of dietary needs and preferences. The pesto, for instance, is made with toasted pepitas, making it nut-free. Many of the dishes can be vegan and vegetarian. And hand-spiraled zucchini noodles are the restaurant’s gluten-free offering.
In addition to pasta, Sauci offers a handful of entrée-size salads. The Rustic features bruschetta-style tomatoes, toasted pepitas, dried currants, gorgonzola, a balsamic reduction, and Pesto Ranch. The Classic is a nod to the St, Louis–style Italian salad, made with red onions, cherry tomatoes, Provel cheese, and zesty house dressing.
Executive chef Dough Wallen leads Sauci’s kitchen. A San Antonio native and veteran chef, Wallen relocated to St. Louis because of his wife’s job and has been doing private chef work for the past couple of years. He was looking for a part-time job to supplement his income, but when he sat down to talk with Adam and Ben about Sauci, he knew he wanted to be a larger part of it.
“Fratelli’s has a reputation for taking care of its people, so I came out to talk to Ben and Adam, and we really hit it off,” says Wallen. “Once I heard what they were doing, I dropped everything to be a part of it. I’ve never seen a startup this fleshed-out before. This craft focus is something people have gotten away from, but when you see companies doing it, they have sustained growth. Smart people are going to go back in that direction: do simple, do well, be reliable. That’s what we want to be.”
The Backstory
Adam and Ben’s father, Tom Alagna, and their uncle, Joe Alagna, opened the original Fratelli’s restaurant in Dellwood in 1983. Later, in 1996, they moved it to its current home on Zumbehl Road in St. Charles. Over the years, it’s become an essential part of the St. Charles’ dining scene, beloved for its fresh, high-quality Italian fare and inviting, family-friendly atmosphere.
Adam and Ben always felt called to be involved in the family business, but they took a detour to work in the marketing and film industries in California and Florida, respectively. They came up with the idea for Sauci when they were both working in other career fields, but there was always something that made them table it (their jobs, their uncle’s retirement, the pandemic). This January, they finally decided that they were ready to take the leap and have been excited watching a dream 10 years in the making finally come to life.
“When we sell food, we’re not really selling pasta. We’re selling comfort,” says Ben. “Here, it’s the [Fratelli’s] comfort, but we are doing it in a slightly different way.”
