Hive Cafe collaborative workspace is now open in Ferguson

Hive Cafe opened on Feb. 1 at 235 S. Florissant Road in Ferguson. Owner Maurice King III describes the new cafe as a “collaborative, creative workspace.” 

Hive Cafe is the third restaurant the King family has opened in the St. Louis area over the last few years. They also own King of Soul Cafe in Ferguson and DSquared Bistro in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood. While Maurice King III is the owner of Hive, his family members are a crucial part of running the cafe. His mother, Yolanda King, serves as the head chef, and his father, Maurice King II, oversees much of the administrative, behind-the-scenes work. His sister, Korri King, owns and operates DSquared Bistro. King’s wife, Kelly King, also assists in the operations of Hive Cafe. King explained that he sees Hive as an extension of their family home. “We always informally adopted people in the neighborhood that needed love. The restaurants we own are really just getting people out of our house,” he laughed. 

In addition to establishing a hospitable space, King founded Hive to “connect changemakers.” As people heavily involved in the city of Ferguson, the Kings wanted a space where the community could come together. In line with this mission, Hive Cafe has a conference room available for reservations. King wants this to be a meeting space for a variety of groups such as chambers of commerce and local nonprofit organizations.  

While people may stay for the community connections, King hopes they come for the food. Hive serves classic breakfast and lunch items like breakfast sandwiches, pancakes and burgers. The menu also includes more unique comfort food options like chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits and the already best-selling salmon croquettes. Customers can order a variety of beverages, including smoothies, tea and coffee. 

The 2,600-square-foot space features an open floor plan with a fireplace, couches and comfy chairs and can accommodate nearly 80 customers amid earth tones like shades of brown and gold with plenty of natural light. King envisions Hive as a place for remote workers to come and enjoy good food and strong community as they work. In a world where more people are working remotely or are becoming entrepreneurs, King said he wanted an “environment for people like me who really never stop working.”   

Hive Cafe is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Sunday. On Saturday, brunch is accompanied by live music from about 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. King is still working on a website that should be ready by the end of the month, but you can call 314.227.0014 for any questions or to reserve the conference room.