Three years ago after buying a building and business from Local Harvest Café and Catering on Morgan Ford Road, Seed Sprout Spoon owners Erin Wiles and Brendan Kirby have purchased a former church building at 5700 Leona Avenue, previously occupied by St. Louis Banquet Center. Wiles and Kirby are currently renovating the sprawling facility and expect to begin hosting events by mid-March.
With its commercial kitchen nearly triple the size of their current spot on Morgan Ford, the Holly Hills facility will become the company’s headquarters for large-scale food production.
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At the same time, Seed Sprout Spoon’s popular a la carte Sunday brunch will likely expand to more service days each week. “We’ve always talked about expanding that, and hopefully we’ll add a few more days each week,” says Kirby. “But on Sundays you can still come in and have a nice, locally sourced brunch. We keep the menu down to 10 or 12 rotating items, but we always have our signature waffles, which change toppings seasonally.”
The company’s expansion into a second building is a significant leap for Kirby and Wiles, who previously managed the café and catering operations at Local Harvest when the company decided to focus on grocery operations across the street. “Local Harvest Café started as a sandwich counter that people really liked,” recalls Wiles. “They opened the café in the grocery store, then they moved the grocery store closer to A&M Bicycles at Arsenal. I came on right around that time. The catering started with people who were fans of the café. They started asking if we would cater things for them.
“When I took over managing that, it wasn’t gigantic,” she continues. “It was maybe two or three events during the busy season for a month. I took it over in 2013, and then it really just expanded from there. I was doing everything except making the food.”
In 2016, Wiles recruited Kirby to help lead the kitchen, but he ended up becoming her partner in the business as well. The laidback culinary director’s approachably elegant cooking style is largely informed by the years that he spent in the kitchen at Duff’s in the Central West End, which his father, Tim Kirby, owned with Karen Duffy. The hallowed dining room with the poetry readings was known for its elevated homestyle cuisine. “You went to Tony’s if you wanted a super fancy meal,” recalls Kirby. “But if you just wanted a really good meal, Duff’s was where you would go.”
With strong kitchen leadership and a dedicated partner in place at Seed Sprout Spoon, Wiles has been able to focus on enhancing event design and service. “Service is one of my moral touchstones,” she says. “I get a good deal out of it.”
Seed Sprout Spoon is known for its creative serving scenarios, upcycled wares, and centerpieces. A poet and crafter of handmade books in her non-catering time, Wiles has a certain design sensibility, which leans toward Art Deco-ish details and antique elegance. Having just bought out the inventory of a regional antique dealer, she can now offer an array of design options to catering clients.
The caterer’s new venue—currently referred to as “The Leona” by Wiles and Kirby—will have the capacity to host 120 guests in its chapel and around 220 in the auditorium. There are multiple stages in the compound, and the possibility of music events has been discussed by the partners. The church complex was constructed in 1924, and its real allure is in the snugs, cubbyholes, and other architectural idiosyncrasies. Wiles has big, elegant plans for all of them.
