Beast Butcher & Block closes in the Grove

The original Beast Craft BBQ Co. in Belleville remains open, and Beast’s food truck and its stand at the new CityPark stadium also continue to operate.

Beast Butcher & Block’s final regular service was March 26, as St. Louis Magazine first reported. The restaurant will honor its reservations for brunch on Easter (April 9) and hold its previously scheduled barbecue classes. The food truck will also be parked “at select times” at the Grove location.

“We’re doing the right things to ensure our long-term success, and for our health,” David Sandusky wrote in the announcement. “We’ve learned a ton, have grown tremendously as a group, and are excited for new things to come.”

Beast Butcher & Block opened in 2019. While the Grove location served the barbecue that had won the original Belleville restaurant wide acclaim, it also featured a retail butcher shop and a live-fire kitchen with its own brunch and dinner programs.

The pandemic suspended Beast Butcher & Block’s more ambitious offerings, but Sandusky introduced such pivots as Wing Runner, a ghost kitchen serving chicken wings, and a pop-up sandwich menu out of the butcher shop.

Recently, Sandusky introduced a new dinner menu to the live-fire kitchen featuring steaks and other upscale fare.

“I’m stoked for the arrival of my new child, utilizing more time to raise my children, and some time for some personal health (and) growth, as well,” Sandusky wrote. “Closing Beast Butcher & Block will also reduce the stress on my management team that has worked so hard for us over the years, enabling them to become more focused on people, training, consistency, quality (and) quality of life.”

Another Beast location, Beast Southern Kitchen & BBQ in Columbia, Illinois, closed last year.

Beast is once again an honoree of this restaurant critic’s STL 100.