ST. LOUIS — The Smokehouse Market next to Annie Gunn's is an old favorite, and they're collaborating with a newer favorite in town.
You'll now find a curated selection of products from KNEAD Bakehouse + Provisions.
The Smokehouse Market, originally called the Chesterfield Mercantile, has been a Midwest landmark since 1937. Then came Annie Gunn's restaurant in 1990 and ever since it's been a one-two punch of topnotch food and service.
Thom Sehnert, owner of The Smokehouse Market, said, "We started Annie Gunn's because so many people would take a look at the meat cases here and say, ‘My God, that looks good, but I don’t want to cook.’ So our restaurant was to showcase all of our products here."
Thom is obsessed with finding the best foods that St. Louis and the world has to offer and putting them on the shelves at The Smokehouse Market. But he doesn't just rely on his own taste buds.
He said, "My son Liam and we use a lot of our customers as taste testers. Anybody will buy one product once and try it, but it's getting them to buy it the second, third, or fourth."
There's a product line they recently started carrying that customers keep coming back for.
Liam Sehnert, 3rd generation owner-operator of The Smokehouse Market, said, "We can barely keep it on the shelves."
A curated selection from KNEAD Bakehouse + Provisions, known for everything sourdough, is now available at The Smokehouse.
The Smokehouse is the first retail location to sell KNEAD products outside of the bakery and restaurant in Lindenwood Park.
A.J. Brown, Co-Owner, CEO, and President of KNEAD Bakehouse said, "This is just a snapshot of what we have at the restaurant. This has our main flagships, breads, pickles, jams, shortbread cookies."
KNEAD got its start selling sourdough bread at farmers markets in St. Charles County.
Brown said, "This is very close to that area so a lot of our customer base that was here back from 2012 is able to come and get our products and hasn't been able to for a while, so it's awesome for us."
If you to try a loaf of the rustic sourdough for yourself, the bread gets stocked on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at The Smoke House and doesn't sit long.
Liam said, "There's no predicting how soon it won’t be here."
The sourdough shortbread cookies have their own following too.
Thom said, "These cookies, my dearest mother would eat 3-4 bags a week. And she's lived to be 93."
Knead and The Smokehouse: a friendly collaboration at a place that'll count customers as friends.
Liam said, "We love to say you walk in as a stranger and you leave as friends… it’s like Cheers."
KNEAD Bakehouse and Provisions
3467 Hampton Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63139
314-376-4361
www.kneadbakehouse.com
The Smokehouse Market
16806 Chesterfield Airport Road, Chesterfield, MO 63005
636-532-3314
www.smokehousemarket.com