UKraft food truck owners will open brick-and-mortar location in Clayton

UKraft food truck launched in October 2018 and is now making its way into a brick-and-mortar location. Opening late June or early July, Ukraft Café and Catering will open on the ground floor of the Regions Center tower at 8182 Maryland Ave., in Clayton, the former home of Gourmet to Go.

Brothers Mike and Matt Ratz co-own the concept. Matt Ratz said the space was perfect for their growth plans. “Gourmet To Go ended their 18 year run, and we jumped on it pretty immediately,” he said. “Our concept kind of fit what the building was looking for.”

The food truck’s concept allows customers to create customizable breakfast bowls, paninis, sandwiches and salads, and the new brick-and-mortar location will continue that trend. 

“People these days are on very restrictive diets, whether they are vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, or they’re on keto diets. We spend a lot of time trying to get into the customer's head, and we wanted to put everything in the customer's hands and let them make their own decisions.”

A menu of premade salads and sandwiches will also be available. New menu options will include an extended panini and breakfast menu, along with customizable grain bowls with rice or quinoa base and your choices of vegetables and protein. Daily specials and a coffee program will be offered, as well.

Ratz said the next step in UKraft’s expansion plan is a location inside the upcoming City Foundry Food Hall.

“This is kind of the bridge between the two. We are going into the Foundry development in May [2020],” Ratz said. “We’re excited about the Foundry and [Ukraft Café and Catering] will be an awesome warm up.”

Darian Stevenson is an editorial intern at Sauce Magazine.