It’s official: Tropical Liqueurs (nickname Trops) will open its doors today.
For those of us who know and love it, the wait was long. Especially if we’d peeked in (we had) at the new location at 4104 Manchester in the Grove and spied the gorgeous patio and pictured ourselves there, amid wall murals of paradise birds, flattered by fairy lights and the wink of stars.
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For those not so acquainted with the concept, what’s the deal? What is Trops and why does it have such a following?
“The idea came from New Orleans,” says Billy Thompson, who co-owns the St. Louis franchise with brother Bradlee and sister Connie Vaughan.
He is referring to the boozy slushies that are the bar’s mainstay, and that have been a monster hit for decades at the other three enormously popular Trops locations in Columbia and Springfield, Missouri.
Thompson and siblings opened their first franchise in Soulard in 2015, but for one reason and another (tension with the neighbors, etc.), the family decided to pack up operations and head to the Grove, a move they announced about two years ago. “We love it here,” says Thompson, who lives in the neighborhood. “We’re collaborating with the community, adding local beers to the mix, bringing in Kaldi’s Coffee.”
The 8,000-square-foot space boasts 14 frozen drink machines and a menu with such favorites as the Tiger Paw, made with rum, peach schnapps, and pineapple and orange juices. Raspberry Lemonade is a combination of raspberry liqueur, vodka, lemonade, and raspberry puree. New offerings include Frosé, a frozen rosé wine cocktail, which will be available on weekends; and Bilikin, made with vodka, blueberry liqueur, huckleberry, and Red Bull.
With 40 standard flavors, not all available at once, Trops in St. Louis will also introduce two machines dedicated to rotating flavors. “We’re going to do it like a competition,” Thompson says. “Whichever one gets ordered most stays on for the next week, and then we’ll bring in another one.”
Sizes start at a double (2-3 shots) for $5, medium (4-5 shots) for $7, large (6-7 shots) for $10, and extra-large (8-9 shots) for $13.
Other drinks include Kaldi’s Coffee, local craft beer on draft and in cans or bottles, and Thompson says they’re working on a Bloody Mary (non-frozen) to add to the menu. Trops will also have a rotating non-alcoholic slushy.
Unlike its other location, Trops in St. Louis will offer a food component. Popular Filipino fast-casual joint Guerrilla Street Food will operate its fourth outpost inside the space and hopes to open by June 1.
Expect handheld dishes, perfect for late nights, like the Filipino Crunchwrap (pictured at right), made with pork shoulder chorizo, refried mung beans, fried wonton, mung bean sprouts, calamansi creme, labuyo hot sauce, chicharron, and green onion—all grilled in a flour tortilla. Guerrilla Street will also offer its house made kettle corn topped with the popular Filipino flavor of salted duck egg.
With his siblings, Thompson says designing the space was “a labor of love.” Thoughtful details include some doors from the old Soulard location (which they had built specifically for the space) used as tabletops, made by Thompson’s sister and mother; and numerous murals by a local artist as a nod to the murals along Manchester. Part of the roof was removed to create the courtyard patio in the back.
“This is home now,” Thompson says.
Trops will be open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 1:30 a.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. until midnight. During their first three nights of business, owners will be collecting donations for Pride St. Louis at the door.
