The family-run Sawmill BBQ has expanded from Metro East to the former Circa Pub & Grill space (1090 Old Des Peres) in Des Peres. Sawmill’s Des Peres location opened March 1 and plans to add weekday lunch hours soon. The barbecue joint serves up a hearty menu of traditional favorites, along with several of Circa’s former specialties. Here’s what to know before you go.
The Menu
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House-smoked meats remain Sawmill’s specialty. Baby back ribs, crusted with Steve’s dry rub (a creation of co-owner Steve Will), and Texas-style brisket are the most popular items on the menu. Pound-size pork steaks are available Fridays and Saturdays. Poultry offerings include large smoked chicken wings and hand-breaded marinated tenders. The house-smoked turkey is part of a wrap with house-made Mayfair dressing, Provel, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. The pulled pork is served on a variety of dishes: on nachos, in a Cuban sandwich, on the Pig Daddy (with a hot link and bacon), and a Hot Italian (with ham, pepperoni, and pepper jack cheese on a grilled baguette with marinara). Customers can choose from four scratch-made barbecue sauces: Carolina mustard, white, sweet, and hot.
The menu stretches beyond house-smoked meats, though. “We’re more than just barbecue,” Will says. “We have cod, shrimp, and sesame salmon.” The 8-ounce filet mignon is composed of grilled beef tenderloin, served with Dijon horseradish steak butter. The restaurant uses a smaller cut for the grilled-to-order Spicy Steak sandwich, topped with pepper jack cheese, breaded jalapeño, and peppers on a grilled bakery bun. Other top sellers include a Philly Brisket sandwich and burgers.
A returning dish from Circa is the toasted ravioli, large wontons stuffed with ample meat filling. The pizzas, made with a light dough, include such specialties as BBQ Chicken, Veggie, and Hot Italian.
There’s also a range of rotating soups, including chicken ‘n dumplings and seafood bisque, as well as the everyday Circa French Onion, which resembles the legendary Famous-Barr soup.
Among the sides: baked beans with pulled pork, jalapeño macaroni and cheese bites, okra, buttered red potatoes, house chips, corn nuggets, and fried pickle spears.
The Atmosphere
The new location, in Des Peres Square, at the southwest corner of Manchester and I-270, previously housed Zydeco Blues, Rib City, and Rick’s Café Americain.
The stately bar is from the Lemp Mansion stables. The new restaurant has full bar service, including a dozen beers on draft and a variety of craft beers. Patrons who remember Circa STL will recall the thousands of pieces of memorabilia placed on the walls and housed in numerous glass cases throughout the space, which could have doubled as a shrine to both local artifacts and food. Its successor also pays homage to the city and its roots, but in a more economical way.
Music, which was a standard at Circa, will return beginning April 1, with local artists and bands slated to play on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The Team
For the past six years, Steve and Vicki Will and their four children—Joey, Mike, Katie, and Rosie—have worked together at the flagship Sawmill location, at 4060 Mississippi Avenue in Cahokia, on the premises of the Cahokia RV Parque. The Wills were looking to expand at the same time that former Circa Pub & Grill owner Jamie Martin (who at one time played for the St. Louis Rams) was ready to sell.
Today, some familiar faces from the former Circa team remain, including chef Melissa “Mel” Molden (a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu) and veteran bartenders George and Cindy Degnan, who used to operate George’s on Clayton in Ellisville and have worked at the Des Peres location for about 12 years. “We love it here,” says Cindy Degnan. “It’s a great family—really good people.”
The continuity in staff has also helped ease the transition, says Rosie Will, who is managing the new restaurant. “We walked into a home already. Our family is now growing with this family—we’ve merged.”
