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NOW OPEN
Straub's Markets plans to open a "destination" store, cafe and cooking school in Ellisville next summer, the upscale grocer's first new opening in more than 40 years.
The store will be built in the Fountain Plaza development at the northeast corner of Clarkson and Clayton roads, with groundbreaking scheduled for February.
Straub's, a fourth-generation family business, has been planning to open an expanded store for about five years, said Trip Straub, vice president.
The plans came together when the spot at the heavily traveled intersection became available. The location is expected to draw from Ellisville, Chesterfield, Wildwood and Clarkson Valley.
Centrum Clarkson LLC, an affiliate of Chicago-based Centrum Properties, is the landlord and developer of the project. In addition to Straub's, the other major anchor is Life Time Fitness.
"Our small-store format has worked for us for 106 years. This design, however, will allow us to spread our wings," Trip Straub said in an interview. "People are getting more and more into food, and (our stores) keep getting tighter and tighter and tighter. This store will allow us to bring new offerings to customers.
Other stores are in the Central West End, Clayton, Webster Groves and Town and Country.
Unlike those stores, the Ellisville market will have a 150-seat indoor/outdoor cafe where shoppers can dine on the store's selection of prepared food. There also will be a self-service hot-and-cold food bar and a grill offering made-to-order sandwiches and pizzas.
Three of Straub's existing locations once had restaurants, but they have been closed over the years to make space for more food items, Straub said.
"The cafe doesn't speak as much to Straub's history as it does to customers' interest in prepared foods," he said. "Food is fun. It's not just macaroni and cheese anymore. People want new and exciting things."
Another feature will be a cooking school, where celebrity and local chefs will teach. The classes will be offered in a room that can hold 30 to 40 people, Straub said. The room also will be available for use by community groups.
The store will offer a range of expanded departments including wine, produce, meat, fish and prepared foods. There will be a counter where cheese can be cut to order.
There will be a large parking area with 500 spaces and two entrances on Clarkson and one on Clayton.
Straub said at some point the chain might consider a sixth location, but the family doesn't want the business to get too big.
"There won't be 20 Straub's," he said. "We want to remain small. We want to know our staff. We want to know our customers."
Although this will be the Clayton-based chain's fifth location, the 40,000-square-foot store will be three times larger than any of the existing operations, employ about 125 workers, and house features too big for the retailer's smaller markets.
