First Look: Grand Sammies & Sides inside Grand Spirits Bottle Co. on South Grand in St. Louis

Grand Sammies & Sides opened Thursday, April 20, inside Grand Spirits Bottle Co. at 3194 S. Grand Blvd. in Tower Grove East. The new concept will offer a range of sandwiches and sides through lunch and dinner Thursday through Sunday, including late-night hours on Friday and Saturday. 

Grand Sammies is the latest venture from Grand Spirits owner Michael Fricker, with chef Pat Skiersch chiefly responsible for creating the sandwiches. "I've always wanted a sammie shop here,” said Fricker. “Coming from Philadelphia and New Jersey, hoagies and stuff like that are a big staple there, and so I've always wanted to add that in with the wine and the mezcal. This was kind of always in the development plan, it was just a matter of finding the right people.” 

The “right person” for Grand Sammies & Sides turned out to be Skiersch, who was most recently sous chef at Salve Osteria under Matt Wynn. Skiersch said he’s wanted to do his own sandwich concept for a long time, and that lined up perfectly with Fricker’s own ambitions. “I would make some [sandwiches] every once in a while for staff meals or something like that,” Skiersch said. “I brought one down to Mike one day and it just blew his mind. He was like, ‘This is perfect.’” 

Skiersch uses the Salve Osteria kitchen to bake bread and for any cooking that’s required: prepping meatballs, roasting meats and so on. The sandwiches are then assembled at Grand Spirits. Among the sandwiches Skiersch debuted at a soft opening on April 14 were a meatball hoagie with provolone, Grana Padano and housemade marinara, and a Philly-style grinder. Skiersch described the latter as filled with “a good amount of charcuterie, sliced in-house, provolone cheese, and a salad of lettuce, onions and peppers – super fresh, super inviting, something that is easy to eat and brings you back for the next bite.” 

Other items include a sausage, egg and cheese grinder roll, and a “garden grinder” offering a vegetarian-friendly option. And there’s more to come, Fricker said. “We’re going to be dropping this hoagie with delicious roast turkey with fried shallots, cheddar cheese,” he said. “Eventually we’re going to have specials like a chicken salad, egg salad with tasso and tallow – that’s super delicious – and then there will be some Sunday lunch specials too.” Sides include a Cajun potato salad and an orzo salad. 

Customers can eat their sandwiches inside Grand Spirits or on the sidewalk patio, and of course you can have your sandwich with a glass (or bottle) of wine or a cocktail from Grand Spirits’ selection. Fricker said Grand Spirits will be adding frozen spritzes and daiquiris to inject a bit of extra fun to its drink offerings, as well as expanding the amaro list. The shop has recently added to its mezcal stock. 

For now, Grand Sammies & Sides will operate from Thursdays to Sundays. Fricker didn’t rule out expanding on that schedule in future, but said that will only happen if the circumstances are right. “Our thing has always been making sure that we're maintaining a work-life balance, for not only ourselves but also the people that work with us,” he said. “If it gets to the point where we're able to scale and do that appropriately, where it's not just Pat working seven days a week, then we'll do that. But for now, we want to keep it a little bit tighter, a little bit smaller, and we'll expand as we see fit. We have a four-day work week for a reason.”

Grand Sammies & Sides is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Those late nights on Friday and Saturday will dovetail with the business hours for New Society, the eagerly awaited new cocktail bar from Fricker and Meredith Barry of Platypus. New Society will be open on Friday and Saturday starting on April 28, and reservations are now available on Tock. 

Editor's Note: The story was updated on April 21, 2023, to correct Grand Sammies & Sides' hours of business. The shop opens at 11 a.m., rather than noon as originally published.