Farm Spirit is the new food partner at Blue Jay Brewing Co. in Midtown St. Louis

The Tower Grove Farmers’ Market vendor will offer smash burgers, sides and more

Blue Jay Brewing Co. opened at 2710 Locust St. in Midtown in late 2023 as part of the up-and-coming JCMidtown development. Boatright’s BBQ operated at the brewery as the food partner from February to May, but now it has been announced that Farm Spirit will be helming the kitchen, effective today, Wednesday, Aug. 28.

A popular Tower Grove Farmers’ Market vendor, Farm Spirit has provided the food for events at Such and Such Farm with Home Hospitality, and also has a robust catering operation. After doing several pop-ups at Blue Jay, they decided to make it more regular. This is the first permanent brick-and-mortar venture for Farm Spirit, which is owned by husband-and-wife duo Ryan McDonald and Ashley Batiste.

“We are so excited to welcome Farm Spirit to the Blue Jay family,” said Blue Jay co-owner Nicole Thompson. “We are consistently blown away by their attention to detail, their focus on the fresh and seasonal, not to mention the food is amazing and the people are great to be around. Ryan and the group from Farm Spirit are as dedicated to providing their guests with the highest quality products and the best experience possible as we are at Blue Jay. This is the beginning of something special.”

The fast-casual offerings have been created to pair well with the Blue Jay beers. Menu items include sandwiches such as a double patty smash burger with Price Family Farm beef; a vegetarian mushroom and Swiss melt on Union Loafers sourdough; a schnitzel sandwich with fresh lemon juice and dijonaise; sides like crispy potatoes with chive salsa verde; a bibb salad with buttermilk dressing; a rotating seasonal vegetable; and snacks such as tempura vegetables; charcuterie boards and Union Loafers Bavarian pretzels served with Blue Jay beer mustard.

“It was immediately easy to find trust and comfort with Jay and Nicole,” said Farm Spirit chef-owner Ryan McDonald. “There are a lot of personal and professional parallels between us all that helped expedite the process. The beer is incredible, the space is great and their care for their product and customers is honest. Midtown is such a cool part of our city, and is certainly on the rise. With CityPark and many other local businesses putting roots down in this neighborhood, it feels like there are lots of opportunities to be a part of a growing hub of entertainment, nightlife and St. Louis sports.”

Guests will be able to dine in or order for carryout. Farm Spirit will be open inside Blue Jay Brewing from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday to Friday and from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday with hours likely to expand in relation to demand.