Grillo’s Chop & Barrel offers whiskey, meats and more in Lake Saint Louis

Meat connoisseur, whiskey buff and industry newcomer Mike Grillo has opened his own meat market, Grillo’s Chop & Barrel, in Lake Saint Louis. Located at 6289 Ronald Reagan Drive, the new spot offers a wide variety of whiskeys and meat. 

The meat selection ranges anywhere from cut steaks to burgers, kebabs, brats, bacon, chicken wings and more. “Almost everything under the sun you could think of as far as what you would want to eat, barbecue, [or] cook,” Grillo explained. With a focus on providing high-quality meat, 90% of the beef comes from local Missouri farms and is Hereford-certified, meaning it meets USDA standards on genetics, where it’s raised and more.

Grillo’s Chop & Barrel also offers a wide selection of craft whiskeys and bourbons from purveyors like Redwood Empire, Wood Hat Spirits, Corsair and more.

“The people that appreciate better-than-just-standard grocery store meat also appreciate better-than-standard whiskey, so I thought it would be a great idea to offer both high-end whiskey and high-end meat,” Grillo said. 

Grillo previously worked in the fitness industry for 15 years, and the idea to open Grillo’s Chop & Barrel stemmed from his growing passion for meats and whiskey and was brought to life when the fitness industry was largely impacted by the pandemic. 

“After a while of seeing how Covid affected the fitness industry pretty negatively, my hope kind of went from realizing that I'm not gonna be able to go back to that industry essentially for the job that I was doing,” Grillo said. “An idea that just kind of got tossed around causally [and] occasionally turned into a reality pretty quick.” 

On top of meats and whiskey, the market also offers Wisconsin cheese, along with a collection of wine that pair wells with steak and chicken. Grillo hopes to expand in the future, both with more items on offer, as well as with more locations, possibly in O’Fallon, St. Peters or Wentzville. 

A grand opening celebration is slated for this weekend featuring tastings of whiskeys and meats, as well as a raffle for a bottle of to-be-determined bourbon on Saturday, Sept. 26, and a gift basket featuring apparel, barware and more on Sunday, Sept. 27.

Grillo’s Chop & Barrel is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.