Three Kings Public House in the Delmar Loop is moving to the old HopCat space this spring

Nearly a year after the beloved Loop restaurant Three Kings Public House was ravaged by fire, its owners have found a new home, and it's just three doors down from the old one — the sprawling two-story building previously home to HopCat.  

"When I went into that space, it's all brick, with amazing wood floors," said Three Kings co-owner Derek Deaver of 6315 Delmar Blvd., which housed Hopcat from 2018 to 2020. "I said, 'It looks just like a Three Kings!'"  Three Kings' original location at 6307 Delmar Blvd. has been closed since suffering the catastrophic three-alarm fire in April. And while Deaver and partners Ryan Pinkston and Derek Flieg had initially hoped to reopen in the same building, the damage has proved just too significant. "It would be 12 months from now to rebuild," Deaver said. "With all my staff members, I need to open sooner rather than later."

Deaver will be operating the new Three Kings as a sole proprietorship, and hopes to be open by spring. The turn-key location is the one thing that makes that possible. Deaver said he gave serious consideration to the spaces in the Loop that previously held Pi Pizzeria and Cicero's. But the Cicero's building needed too much work, and the Pi location, which sits just across the street from the Pageant and Delmar Hall, had one big downside: It's just over the county line in St. Louis city.

And that was a problem even beyond the long lag time to get a liquor license in the city. Deaver is also president of the Loop Special Business District, which seeks to promote the University City portion of Delmar. "This way I'll be able to stay in that position," he said. "And I want to stay in U City."

Deaver acknowledges the Loop has had its struggles in recent years, as the long-vacant Cicero's space and the near-empty western end of the Loop around it make clear. But Deaver said, up until the fire in April, Three Kings was doing big business. "We were on pace for our second best year ever." The 420 celebration, that saw the Loop closed to traffic, saw the restaurant's single best day in its 12-year history. 

He never seriously considered leaving Delmar. "We're really excited to be back in the Loop," he said. He knows of other businesses' struggles and he doesn't downplay them. "But the Loop is still the place to go for events, for restaurants. We're going to do well. And we're excited to be back."

As for the HopCat space, it's 6,300 square feet: 2,000 more than the old Three Kings spot. But Deaver said he's not worried. The new space has one major advantage. "Three Kings was always busier than Hopcat," Deaver said. "But the one thing I was so jealous of was the back patio. They did a great job with that – and I'm going to do even better."