Companion’s Clayton Cafe to close Oct. 30

After 16 years, owner Josh Allen is closing doors at Companion's Clayton cafe on Oct. 30. The cafe in Ladue and baking campus in Maryland Heights will both remain open.

“Our lease was expiring and we had to make the decision as to whether we wanted to re-up on a longer term lease,” he said. “Looking at our business, we’re seeing a lot of growth from our national distribution. We’re seeing quite a bit of growth in catering. We just decided to put our energy into the parts of the business that have been growing and expanding,” Allen said.

Since Companion will vacate the location entirely, Allen wasn’t sure what the future of the space will look like. He encouraged Clayton regulars to visit Companion at its other two facilities.

“We’re incredibly thankful and appreciative to the Clayton community, most specifically, and to St. Louis for all their support in that space and we hope that folks will come and see us in West St. Louis and Ladue,” said Allen. “We’re not going away completely, but we’re just closing that one chapter in our company history.”

This is the latest in a series of big business moves for the hometown break bakery. Companion opened its massive new Maryland Heights campus in February, after closing its original Dutchtown bakehouse and Early Bird Outlet in November 2015.