A restaurant with great promise opens tonight in Midtown. Scout’s (2704 Locust), owned by Brandon Panosh and Elliott Brown—who also operate The Biscuit Joint two blocks away—marks the first full collaboration with partner and general manager Will Rogers, formerly the food and beverage director at 21C Museum Hotel St. Louis.
The cuisine, described as “New American with Italian/Mediterranean influences,” has its roots in Dinner at the Loft, the chefs’ pop-up project where meals unfolded “in our home, in your homes, and everywhere in between.” Named after Brown’s daughter, Scout’s launches with dinner Thursday through Monday, with brunch and lunch to follow.
Here’s what to know before you go.
The Atmosphere
Scout’s occupies 1,800 square feet and seats 85 inside, with another 22 on a patio shared with neighbor Blue Jay Brewing. The interior is divided into three domestic-themed zones: The Living Room, The Dining Room, and The Kitchen, with space designed to deliver a distinct experience.
Guests enter by climbing a short flight of stairs, a transition that Rogers likes because it “lifts you off the street and into another space.” At the top sits a dramatic 10-seat bar anchoring The Living Room, a cushy mix of couches and lounge seating that doubles as a dinner space. Bar seats are reservable, much like at Louie or Esca, though walk-ins are routed there when available.
Iron ore–colored walls and a cinnamon-colored ceiling warm the room, playing off the colors of exposed brick. In The Dining Room, black-and-white fashion photographs—shot in the space for a previous ad campaign—offer a touch of color-correct continuity. The indefatigable woodworker David Stine built nearly all of the tables from light-grained hickory harvested on his own land, a shift from his signature walnut slabs. The exception is the well-traveled 8-top table in The Kitchen room, the very one the chefs assembled and disassembled countless times for Dinner at the Loft events. “They won’t have to do that anymore,” Rogers says, a little relieved.
That same room holds Stine’s 12- to 14-seat “family table,” a massive hickory slab positioned beside the pass. “You don’t see many tables that size in restaurants,” Rogers says, imagining it filled for birthdays, anniversaries, bachelorette parties, and long celebratory meals.
Artwork is still being placed and considered throughout the space, especially on the main wall in The Dining Room. “It might be a paper or a mural,” Rogers says. “We’ll know when we know.”
The Menu
Most chefs are hesitant to pigeonhole their cuisine, and Panosh follows suit. “We don’t want to put ourselves in a box,” he says. He likes to describe it as New American cooking rooted in the instincts of family and friends, shaped by Brown’s Italian leanings and his own affinity for vegetables and Mediterranean flavors. They also practice what they call “mindful sourcing,” meaning choosing local ingredients only when it makes sense to do so, product quality being the main driver.
The opening menu, a tidy dozen items, ranges from snacks and small plates to pastas, mains, and desserts. Prices are intentionally modest to encourage ordering a spread. Snacks include fried artichokes, carbonara arancini, and hummus with harissa, all priced at $12.
Three salads anchor the next section: a chopped salad reminiscent of a Caesar, brightened with capers and dill; charred cabbage dressed with ’nduja cream, sunflower seeds, ramps, and more dill; and the standout, grilled carrots with harissa vinaigrette, feta, herbs, and a pickled-pepper–pinenut salsa that’s almost as fun to say as to eat.
Pasta offerings include house-made bucatini in a minimalist treatment of black pepper, pecorino, and sesame seeds, as well as gnocchi sardi tossed with Italian sausage, broccoli, Calabrian chili, and preserved lemon. Larger plates feature a half chicken with fall vegetables and a flank steak with polenta, burst cherry tomatoes, and caper verde.
As for drink options, Carson Bush, whom Rogers worked with at the 21c, heads up the beverage program. “He is absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the best bartender in St. Louis,” Rogers previously told SLM. (Rogers recently added, “Carson’s drinks are transcendentally better than even I thought they would be.”) Bush is joined by Emma Hendricks, the former lead ‘tender at Platypus, whom Carson describes as one of the best he’s ever been around.
The team has built what Rogers calls a “curated bar,” one that mirrors the ease of ordering a drink in a friend’s home. “You wouldn’t ask the guy for a Grey Goose and tonic,” Rogers says. “You’d simply say you want a vodka tonic and trust the host from there.”
Due to space limitations, prep time, and the need for speed, Bush says, the cocktail program stays intentionally concise: five house cocktails, each with a nonalcoholic counterpart, plus five additional zero-proof options. The demand for N/A cocktails continues to grow, a shift the partners welcome, especially since they choose not to drink themselves.
The Service
Rogers describes the compact team as “skilled professionals, one and all,” noting that many front-of-house staffers came from management backgrounds and wanted to step back into service. Hence, training was minimal; even Toast’s handheld point-of-service system was familiar and required no introduction.
For now, the restaurant operates Thursday through Monday nights, with brunch and lunch to follow. Monday service, Rogers says, is a deliberate nod to industry workers—and anyone else—in search of a night out when many restaurants are idle.
The idea of “employees as family” is important to the partners, Rogers says. What matters most, he emphasizes, is that employees feel genuinely valued. “Being chosen as someone’s workplace is an honor,” he says, describing an environment meant to support cooks, servers, dishwashers, and assistants alike. Panosh echoes that sentiment, explaining that their goal isn’t merely to launch restaurants but to build places where people can grow personally—whether that means being physically active, pursuing therapy, maintaining sobriety, or simply finding balance.
The Backstory
The partnership at Scout’s has roots stretching back to high school, where Panosh and Brown first met. They reconnected in the kitchen at Vicia, and the idea of creating a restaurant group—a place where their many talented friends could find opportunities—took shape. That vision sharpened when they were working together at The Last Hotel and met Rogers.
“Our relationship just kept building,” Panosh says. “We knew we wanted to do something together.”
Rogers recalls being struck by Panosh’s precision—“every detail intentional, even how he holds a spoon”—and by the visible spark in Brown’s eyes whenever he talked about his dream of opening a restaurant. “I just knew I wanted to be a part of that,” he says.
The plan is for all three partners to be present nightly: Brown at the pass, Panosh on the line, and Rogers as maître d’, a structure they believe diners will find reassuring.
Regarding future plans, Rogers says, “Another Biscuit Joint is an option. Or a pizza joint. Or a bagel joint. So possibly four joints.” Larger projects will depend on which neighborhoods and cuisines speak to them. “Restaurants don’t make it when they are forced,” he says.
Scout’s
📍2704 Locust, Midtown
📞314-394-8650
⏰5-9 p.m. Thu, Sun, Mon; 5 – 10 p.m. Fri-Sat
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