A decade ago, Russ Clark wondered why St. Louis had only one place specializing in kolaches, the popular central European stuffed pastry. So in September 2015, Clark and business partner Bart Mantia opened St. Louis Kolache on a busy corner in Creve Coeur, the ideal locale for a portable, affordable product.
Clark describes kolaches as “the perfect grab-and-go, one-handed road food, ideal for eating in the car or while walking, like a little Hawaiian sweet bread sandwich, stuffed with all sorts of goodies.” (Clark notes that “Kolache is actually the plural of kolach, but people still call them kolaches.”)
Ten years and 10 more stores later—with the branding American Kolache beyond metro St. Louis—the business is eyeing what Clark calls a “triple major” expansion: new stores, a rollout in Walmart, and a possible push into airline catering.
Walmart Deal in the Works
Clark says that it was customer requests to ship kolaches nationwide that pushed him toward expanding his retail offerings. After working with Range Me, a company that connects brands with large retailers—and placed them in Costco, Sam’s, Walmart, and on QVC— Clark went to Kansas City to present at Walmart’s “open call,” a multi-city event in which people pitch products to gauge if there is any interest.
“If you knock their socks off, which we did,” Clark says, “you get what they call a Fast Pass—similar to a Golden Ticket—which means your product has been immediately accepted and you get invited to Bentonville to finalize the deal. I secured a broker who’s familiar with Walmart negotiations. We go there in October.
“Out of 7,000 products presented in these open calls around the country, they only chose 575, and only 50 of those got the Fast Pass,” he continues, “so you really have to impress them. In Los Angeles, only nine got it. In Kansas City, there were three. One of them was us.
“It’s quite the production,” he explains. “You’re all ready to make your presentation, and they swoop in with a red carpet and cameras, and let you know you’ve already been accepted. These guys have done their research. It’s an amazing experience.
“To be honest, I didn’t even know there was a Fast Pass/Golden Ticket,” he adds. “They said our product blew them away. Well, they blew us away. They were amazingly good people to deal with.”
If final negotiations in Bentonville go as planned, the frozen kolaches—slightly smaller than the in-store versions and packaged in six- and 12-count packs—would likely launch in 250–500 Walmart stores, with potential to expand from there. Clark says his co-packer can already produce 5,000 kolaches per hour to meet demand.
Serving the Skies
While the Walmart wheels were in motion, Clark’s products were also represented at a frozen retail show in Chicago, and he signed a contract with Optimum Catering Solutions, which supplies U.S. and Canadian airlines.
“They showed our product at an airline show just this past weekend,” he says, “and are confident the orders will come in. They told me the airlines can order 150,000 or more units at a time, and I said, ‘Great, we’re ready.’”
Clark presented Walmart and Optimum with two varieties—Sausage & Gravy and ‘Merica (sausage, gravy, egg, bacon, hashbrown)—but says he is also preparing to offer potential buyers “a morning and a lunch menu,” from the dozens of varieties he’s created over the years, everything from pizza and Philly cheesesteak to crab rangoon and seasonal flavors.
Asked about the possibility of landing both Walmart and an airline gig, Clark said, “it’d be like going from zero to 100, and I’m ready to go 100.”
Store Expansion Plans
Measured growth has defined the past decade, with 11 locations total, including seven in St. Louis, two in Illinois, and single stores in Topeka, Kansas, and Birmingham, Alabama. Clark now plans to open five to seven more stores per year, mostly beyond the metro area.
Four are already on deck: Fort Wayne, Indiana (opening late September), Ashburn, Virginia (October), Peoria, Illinois (November), and Louisville, Kentucky (December). “I had to smile when I learned that the Ft. Wayne operator will partner with a BBQ outfit called Shigs in Pit,” Clark says, adding that each location is franchisee-operated, beginning with a one-store commitment.
All stores follow the same décor template and offer the same base menu, with the option to add collaborative items using a local coffee supplier and restaurant partners, as Clark has done here with Pappy’s, Gioia’s, and Ann & Allen.
“There are other kolache companies in the market, but none, to the best of my knowledge, that are in the expanding into other market niches the way we are. We are the fastest growing kolache company in the country,” Clark says. “In five years, I’d like to be in airports, on airlines, truck stops, and of course in more Walmarts. Right now, we’re negotiating to add kolaches to menus at several restaurants at the St. Louis airport. Love’s Travel Stops also expressed interest, so there’s that market, too. “
A Decade of Kolaches
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, St. Louis Kolache will roll back prices to 2015 levels—$1.69 for sweet kolaches and $2.69 for savory—compared to today’s $2.09 and $3.79.
“The anniversary promotion will likely run for a weekend in October,” Clark says. “Be on the lookout for it.”
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