Olive & Oak owners will open event space in Webster Groves

After dropping a cryptic Instagram post yesterday, Dec. 12, Olive & Oak owner Mark Hinkle has confirmed he will open an as yet unnamed event space at 216 W. Lockwood Ave. Hinkle said he anticipates the space opening sometime late next year.

Hinkle said he bought the building last year and is currently transforming it from the former location of Auto Beauty Specialists to a useable event location. When finished, the 20,000-square-foot space, which formerly housed Auto Beauty Specialists, will have a fully operational kitchen that will serve Olive & Oak food.

“We’ve been reconfiguring exactly what it’s going to be,” Hinkle said. “We’ve been working for the past year-and-a-half on all the fun due diligence, like planning, fundraising, approval from the city. We’ve gotten over a lot of hurdles, and at this point, we’re just dotting i’s and crossing t’s. [We’ll be] hopefully starting construction by the end of the winter.”

One big question mark remains: Hinkle said he will partner with a local brewpub on the space’s drink menu, but the details are still in the works.

“Can’t say just yet, but hopefully soon,” he said.

Hinkle opened Olive & Oak in 2016 to wide critical acclaim. His second eatery, The Clover and The Bee, opened in late 2017 and recently was named one of Sauce’s Best New Restaurants of the year. 

Adam Rothbarth is a staff writer at Sauce Magazine.