St. Louis is getting a new aquarium in 2019, but the $187 million redevelopment bringing that project to life at Union Station will also give the city three new restaurants.
The trio of new dining destinations—The Soda Fountain, The Train Shed, and 1894 Cafe—will open in late 2019. Like the St. Louis Aquarium, all three restaurants are the creation of Union Station owner Lodging Hospitality Management (LHM), which oversees 17 hotels and seven restaurants in the city.
The Soda Fountain will be housed inside the former Hard Rock Cafe, on the south side of the Aquarium site, and is expected to be the first of the three new restaurants to open. LHM’s vice president of revenue and marketing, Todd Hotaling, put the opening date for The Soda Fountain at around August or September, coinciding with the launch of the St. Louis Wheel outside the Aquarium. The restaurant will also overlook the existing Union Station Lake. The interior design will be Art Deco–inspired, but the food and drink will offer a modern take on soda fountain favorites, from shakes and old-school phosphate sodas to American diner classics.
Courtesy of St. Louis Aquarium
A rendering of what Union Station will look like after St. Louis Aquarium development.
Front and center is a tantalizing lineup of booze-soaked shakes created by mixologist Kyle Mathis. Mathis is already well-known for his sterling work devising bar programs at LHM venues, from Westport Social to Three Sixty at Hilton at the Ballpark. The details of a few sample shakes released to media on January 17 suggest Mathis is having a lot of fun creating The Soda Fountain’s drink list—and while he’s at it, he’s using lots of ingredients produced locally.
One of those shakes, the St. Louis Standard, is based on Gooey Butter Cake ice cream from Clementine’s Naughty and Nice Creamery, spiked with Civil Life Brown and Expedition Rum from distiller StilL 630. Another shake combines Clementine’s Blueberry Buttermilk and Blue Moon ice creams and Brick River’s Firehouse Rose Cider, topped off with a port float, in a drink called Rosado Rosa, Rose. Ice cream for shakes will also be supplied by Ices Plain & Fancy.
Containing no alcohol, Soda Fountain’s signature Whoop Shakes (a local spin on the freakshake, an Aussie invention) are audacious both in their conception and execution. “These are monster shakes—it will take a table of ten to eat one,” says Hotaling. One, the Shark Attack, is a blueberry milkshake with jelly beans, whipped cream, and a rim of blue vanilla frosting, topped off with Swedish fish candy and a shark fin lollipop. Another is Death by Chocolate: a chocolate milkshake dressed with whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, and a chocolate fudge rim, stacked on top with a brownie and chocolate bar. Look out for sodas like Cherry Chocolate Cola, house-made sarsaparilla, and more.
Executive chef Russel Cunningham is behind the food at The Soda Fountain, and his menu will include smashburgers and fresh takes on traditional American diner favorites. Cunningham is responsible for all of LHM’s Union Station restaurants, so he’s also busy working up the menus for The Train Shed and 1894 Cafe.
The Train Shed is being billed as drawing inspiration from the 1904 World’s Fair, both in terms of interior design and food. “It will be very Art Deco inside,” says Hotaling. “It’ll serve American food, local ingredients, local craft beers and a really fun cocktail program. It will be a great attraction for anybody going to a Blues game, or an event at the theater, as well as obviously visitors to the Aquarium.”
“Food-wise, we’re keeping it upscale contemporary,” says Chef Cunningham. “Some bar food, some regular food. I’ve got giant, oversize, bacon-and-cheese stuffed tater tots, instead of the regular ones everyone else has. We’re going to do everything from pork steaks to Nashville hot chicken, since that’s just down the road.” There aren’t too many details at present on how the World’s Fair theme will influence the menu, but there’s plenty of food-related lore around that seminal event to mine from.
The Train Shed will also feature a well-stocked bar, with 20 taps pouring local and international draft beers, a cocktail list leaning on pre-Prohibition cocktails, and high-end spirits. The Train Shed will be located at ground level, next to the south entrance of the redeveloped Union Station where Houlihan’s once stood. With opening hours running until 1 a.m., the Enterprise Center a block away, Busch Stadium, a couple of Metrolink stations, and the MLS soccer stadium slated for construction not too far away, The Train Shed could be a prime spot for sports fans, as well as families visiting the Aquarium.
Courtesy of LHM
A rendering of the future 1894 Café.
1894 Cafe rounds out the trio of new openings, and will be a “fast and easy service restaurant” aimed mainly at Aquarium customers, with business hours mirroring the Aquarium's. The venue’s name is a nod to the year Union Station first opened, and the food is being planned with families and visiting school groups in mind. The idea is to keep things simple, offering kid-friendly crowd-pleasers like burgers, pizza, and chicken sandwiches.
Look out for more updates as details emerge on these three restaurants, and for more coverage of the development of St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station.
