Capitalist Pig will close in Soulard

Capitalist Pig chef-owner Ron Buechele will shut down service at the popular lunchtime barbecue restaurant to focus on a new goal: returning to the St. Louis County police department.

Buechele left the department after 20 years in 2006 to focus on Mad Art Gallery, which he opened in 2001 in a former city jail building at 2727 S. 12th Street in Soulard. In 2012, he expanded the venture to include the lunchtime barbecue restaurant Capitalist Pig, specializing in sustainable and humanely raised hogs.

Buechele plans to keep Mad Art Gallery open for onsite events and discontinue lunch service at Capitalist Pig by the end of September.

Barbecue fans will still be able to get a taste of the Pig though. Buechele said he’ll still be available for offsite catering, and will continue to participate in festivals and events like the upcoming Bikes & BBQ festival in Alton next month.

He doesn’t rule out a return to lunch at the Pig at some point. “I’m not the kind of guy who just stops,” he said.

Matt Sorrell is staff writer at Sauce Magazine.