Crushed Red Urban Bake & Chop Shop, a fast-casual franchise known for chopped-to-order salads and whole-grain pizzas, opened its third St. Louis location on June 16 in Creve Coeur, Missouri. The new restaurant follows two successful locations in Kirkwood and Clayton.
The Urban Bake & Chop Shop in Creve Coeur will offer artisan-crafted salads and pizzas, as well as the option to customize salads and pizzas from a myriad of fresh ingredients. Each salad includes fresh vegetables, fruit, and protein and is organically dressed and chopped to order with a Crushed Red mezzaluna knife. The pizzas are built on the foundation of a whole-grain crust that was developed by Mike Marino, the former national director of baking operations for Panera Bread. The dough is stretched by hand, topped with an organic tomato sauce and then baked in a proprietary oven and served hot in 90 seconds.
Rounding out the menu options are a rotation of daily all-natural soups and savory shareable appetizers such as the Warm Herbed Goat Cheese or Urban Zest. In addition to progressive food options, guests can also enjoy wine by the glass or bottle and locally brewed beer on draft.
“Crushed Red is proud to call St. Louis our home base, and we are excited to expand our roots throughout the area and into Creve Coeur before growing nationally later this year,” says Chris LaRocca, Crushed Red founder and veteran restaurateur. “We anticipate that the people of Creve Coeur will quickly realize why Clayton and Kirkwood residents can’t stop raving about our chopped salads, pizzas, and shareables. We are carving out our own distinctive niche in the fast-casual industry, serving up true artisan flavors—fast—in a welcoming and comfortable environment.”
In addition to artisan-crafted menu items, Crushed Red is also committed to running every restaurant as a sustainable operation, meaning it creates little-to-no waste. Crushed Red utilizes LED lights, recyclable batteries, paper instead of plastic bags, hand dryers versus paper towels, beverages served in glass bottles, compostable linen trays, real silverware and glassware in place of plastic ware, washable linens, and more to keep waste at a very minimal level.
