Eat Crow Brings Heavy Metal and Mac and Cheese to Soulard

Eat Crow (1931 South 12th Street, 314-934-1400), the new concept from the owners of the popular Maplewood bar and restaurant The Crow's Nest, may have a different name than its sister concept and a couple of extra dishes, but co-owner Kenny Snarzyk insists its essence is the same.

"If you walked in here and didn't know we were related to The Crow's Nest, you'd figure it out pretty quickly," Snarzyk says. "Either that, or you'd think we were ripping them off pretty badly."

For Snarzyk and his business partners Eliza Coriell and RJ Marsh, the main reason to open Eat Crow was to capture that Crow's Nest magic for even more diners. It's something they had been talking about well before the pandemic, but once they reopened for in-person service following an 11-month shutdown, they were so inundated with customers that they figured the time was right to expand. They had no room left to do so in their Maplewood location; after renovating their back patio, the real estate footprint was as large as municipal zoning would allow. With nowhere to grow on site, they figured their best option was to open an additional location.


Snarzyk, Coriell and Marsh searched around town for a place that ticked all the right boxes and happened upon the former Nadine's Gin Joint in Soulard. They were hopeful that the space would be turnkey, but they ended up having to do a significant renovation, including filling a sinkhole that was uncovered when they were redoing the patio. Finally, after seven months of construction, the three welcomed their first guests to Eat Crow on July 29th.

In addition to the heavy metal vibe, Snarzyk, Coriell and Marsh carried over much of The Crow's Nest menu to Eat Crow. Hummus, pork poutine, chili cheese fries, cheese curds, salad dressings, grilled cheese and the Philly sandwich are all available at the sophomore spot. However, there are several new additions to the menu. Marsh, who runs the kitchen at the Crow's nest in addition to being a partner in Eat Crow, built upon his popular mac and cheese at the new spot by changing up the noodles and offering a build-your-own option. He also created several versions for guests to choose from including a Hot Honey option with fried hot honey chicken, gorgonzola and a ranch drizzle, as well as a Philly Mac, made with roast beef, sautéed onions, green peppers and cream cheese.

In addition to expanded mac and cheese offerings, new dishes at Eat Crow include mini tacos, the Albuquerque Turkey — featuring turkey breast, bacon, cheddar-jack, green chili and deep-fried garlic mayo — and the Big Nasty, which is an open-face roast beef sandwich with cheddar cheese and horseradish sauce that is smothered in peppercorn gravy. Unlike The Crow's Nest's thicker burgers, Eat Crow serves several varieties of smash burgers.


Snarzyk feels extremely grateful with the response he and his team have had to both The Crow's Nest and Eat Crow. He credits the success to a happy staff; as he notes, neither he nor Coriell had ever owned a restaurant before The Crow's Nest and worked their way up in the industry. As such, they know how to treat their employees, who, in turn, translate that good-naturedness to their guests.

"Never in my life did I figure I'd own any bar or restaurant, much less two," Snarzyk says. "It's pretty intense; here, everyone is new, including us. How do you prepare for that? We're just trying to do as much of what we do at the Crow's Nest here and take care of our employees because we love them and want to make sure that they have a good quality of life."

Eat Crow is open Monday through Saturday from 11-1:30 a.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. until midnight. The kitchen closes Monday through Thursday at 10 p.m., Friday through Saturday at 11 p.m. and Sunday at 9 p.m. Scroll down for more photos of Eat Crow.

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