Sundance Cafe rises from The Breakaway Cafe’s ashes in Bel-Nor

'There's no other place in the neighborhood to sit down and eat,' said Kirk Kirkpatrick, co-owner and longtime resident

When Bel-Nor staple The Breakaway Cafe closed after a kitchen fire in 2021, Kirk Kirkpatrick made a promise to his mother, since passed away. If he could reopen it, he would.

On the surface, it might seem like an odd move for an automobile broker. But Kirkpatrick, 75, is Bel-Nor through and through. Born in the neighborhood, he moved away in his 20s and lived in locations across the U.S., only to return. 

“There's no other place in the neighborhood to sit down and eat,” he said. In other words, it was too important an institution to let go.

Kirkpatrick made good on that promise at the end of June when he and his partners (also longtime North County residents – their LLC is the NC Boys) opened Sundance Cafe at 8418 Natural Bridge Road in the former Breakaway Cafe space. 

The restaurant, which Kirkpatrick describes as family focused, serves an ever-expanding list of American classics such as smashburgers; sandwiches such as fried chicken, steak and turkey-avocado; salads such as a fresh berry, goat cheese and walnut; soups like tomato bisque and a French onion that sells out constantly. Sundance will be adding pastas – mac and cheese, seafood linguini and a blush sauce – imminently. On weekends, Sundance serves brunch all day.

On the walls, Sundance displays artwork made by faculty from the neighboring University of Missouri–St. Louis but there’s nary a TV in sight. Kirkpatrick explained that was intentional.

“The whole idea is for people to come sit in the cafe and talk, not look at their phones or watch television,” he said. “So far, that's been a huge hit. Nobody's even asked to turn on CNN or Fox and complain or even about a ball game. People come in and just talk and have a good time.”

The partners went back and forth on a few name options – Phoenix was bandied about for a while – before settling on Sundance. Kirkpatrick said that he wanted something sunny and cheerful after the fire. Likewise, he decided to paint the interior light colors and keep things open and full of light for a similar reason. 

When he first saw the building, it was dark and smoky from the fire. The back was burned off and the city of Bel-Nor subsequently completely gutted and redid the kitchen, part of the roof, the wiring and flooring. Getting it reopened and passing all the required inspections was quite a process.

Finally reopening it “feels great,” Kirkpatrick said.

And the community seems to agree. The response from the neighborhoods, and the nearby UMSL, has been tremendous.

“It's just a very tight knit group of people that are keeping the area strong,” he said. “We encourage everybody from the surrounding neighborhoods and all over St Louis to come and try us out. Come have a good time.”