It was one of the most impressive restaurant conversions in recent memory.
Originally a two-bay service station, the restaurant's building didn’t even have a roof when Kevin King of King Campo LLC acquired it. The running joke was that there was “more green inside than out.”
Two years in the making, Utah Station opened in mid-2019 to immediate and wide acclaim. King transformed the space into a 45-seat room that spills out onto a large front patio. To the east, a native Missouri plant garden transitions into a large, gas-fired limestone fire pit area with tables fashioned from tree trunks. At night, the side yard looks, feels, and smells like summer camp.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Chef Chris Bertke, 25 years a vegan, assembled a menu comprised of plant-based interpretations of fast food items, such as the Big Mak and Crack Tacos (made with “veef”) that closely mimic the Jack in the Box original. Omnivores were on board with the Fricken sandwich, and the Vegan T-Ravs were such big a hit that Bertke couldn’t keep up with the demand; he had to 86 them from the everyday menu. The restaurant remained popular even after Bertke moved on.
Photo by George Mahe
A month ago, following an altercation inside the restaurant, a juvenile was shot on the property. The restaurant closed at the time, hasn’t reopened, and won’t reopen as Utah Station, says building owner King, who’s been making improvements, big and small, including a space for additional storage.
King says he has an interested party but is curious about other ideas that might be out there. “Having another vegetarian/vegan restaurant there would make sense,” he says. “Then again, a person could do a lot of things in that space.”
