ST. LOUIS — If you didn't know what Beyond Sweet Kitchen + Bar looked like before Sunday, you probably wouldn't notice the temporary makeover. Over the weekend, vandals broke three of the Delmar Boulevard restaurant's windows.
Sunday morning was the third time Beyond Sweet Kitchen + Bar staff showed up to find broken glass on the dining room floor. Executive Chef Jason Dickerson said when he saw the windows, he thought, "What type of foolishness going on now?"
He then had to call the team and tell them the restaurant would not be opening that day.
Pointing to the large front facing windows, Beyond Sweet Experience Director Shelley Miller said, "Three of these major big paned windows were damaged greatly."
Replacements are not cheap. Miller estimates each pane will cost around $4,000 to replace.
While they wait for replacements, the Beyond Sweet team went above and beyond to make the space feel fancy again.
Miller said with a smile, "The owner Miss Dallas Holland-Mims, she was like 'Oh no, oh no, my place will not look like that.' She said, 'Whatever we have to do we're going to make it cute, even when it's semi-not cute.'"
Holland-Mims rallied her team to paint the boarded up windows and hang curtains. Showing off their quick work, Miller beamed, "As you can see, have boards ever looked so cute?"
Indeed they do. The street facing side boasts large white tarps with the Beyond Sweet Kitchen + Bar logo on them. A sweet touch for a sour situation.
The restaurant opened for regular business on Thursday and is back to taking reservations for the weekend. Behind the bar, Exyrius Hadley-Lockett will be happy to see his regulars.
"It's very homelike," Hadley-Lockett said. "You know I feel like I am close with all my coworkers. We have a close connection, close with the community. And there's always good food, great drinks and it's always a great time here."