Thursday, June 22, 2023

Brett Hull’s Junction House - Restaurant Review
Brett Hull's Junction House is an upscale sports bar, music venue, and restaurant in Wentzville, Missouri.

WENTZVILLE, MO (StLouisRestaurantReview) If you are not a sports fan, you might ask, “Who is Brett Hull?”  While he is a famous hockey player now retired and plays more golf than hockey.

Hull's nickname, "The Golden Brett," refers to his father's nickname, "The Golden Jet."  His jersey #16 was retired by the St. Louis Blues in 2006, and later became a first-ballot inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.  Hull retired in 2005 with 741 goals scored, which ranked him the 3rd most goals scored in NHL history.  A record that currently sits at 5th all-time today.

He has become popular in the restaurant industry with the help of a strong team behind him.

While it is located in Wentzville, MO, Brett Hull's Junction House is worth the drive to experience the atmosphere created by the custom-designed facility that is owned by the restaurant, costing more than $5 million to build features that include:

- 3 full-service bars located on the interior, patio, & rooftop areas

- Inside ground level that seats approximately 167

- Outdoor Patio that is covered and seats approximately 169

- Open-Aired Rooftop that is both covered and uncovered that seats approximately 96

- A performing stage located on the roof of the Rooftop area

The vision that went into this project is overwhelming.  The ownership group spared no expense in creating the perfect dining destination and atmosphere making it a place to spend the entire evening or even the weekend.

There are four investors, one of them being the managing partner of the establishment who put together this grandiose vision of the facility and dream of being supported by his childhood idol, Brett Hull.  The design phase took over one year before any construction or build-out of the facility had begun.  There are multiple pathways to reach the various levels, an elevator, and a view to make the visit an experience to remember.

The project was started in 2018 but was not opened until November 2020, which you can only imagine the ownership group’s fear at that time, during the peak of the pandemic.

However, the opening was a major success, and they continued growing their business each month thereafter.  There is significant money, experience, time, and dedication behind the brand and idea that has been developed.

In February 2023, they opened another location inside the Enterprise Center, home to the St. Louis Blues. Additionally, STL.News recently announced that they had secured their 3rd location at 4747 McPherson Avenue in the Central West End, previously occupied by Llywelyn’s Pub, and the plan is to be open within approximately 120 days.  Based on this group's past performance, they will most likely discover additional projects to expand in the future as well.

Future plans are open, but Dallas, TX, is of interest to the group.

One of the most notable features of this establishment is that it is a scratch kitchen.  Nothing is frozen but instead made from scratch, with 85% of the recipes being family recipes.  They have a one-of-a-kind facility, but the food & drinks are the main attraction, with alcohol making up 40% of their sales.

Brett Hull’s Junction House offers:

- Indoor, outdoor, and rooftop full-service bars and dining areas

- Rooftop bar - open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 4 pm to close

- Live music on Thursdays and Saturdays

- Brunch buffet with live outdoor music on Saturdays and Sundays

- Premium liquors, beer, and wine, including Codigo 1530 Tequila, which is Brett Hull’s premium tequila brand, and unlike other tequilas, Codigo 1530 is aged in French oak cabernet barrels

- Great food & drinks, service, venue, ambiance, and atmosphere

Brett Hull’s Junction House online reviews as of June 20, 2023, are as follows:

- Google – 4.0 Stars with more than 700 online customer reviews

- Facebook – 4.0 Stars with more than 250 online reviews – 7870 likes – 8381 followers

- TripAdvisor – 3.5 Stars with 20 online reviews

- Yelp – 3 Stars with 160 reviews

I know this place well because my significant other and I live in Wentzville and frequent the establishment often.  We typically do not challenge online reviews, but these reviews and ratings are far too low considering the quality of the food, service, and, most importantly, the facility.  Our opinion, and it's an opinion, is that this restaurant deserves to be rated at 4.75 Stars or even higher.

While the business features Brett Hull’s name and historic hockey record, who is the visionary behind this concept and responsible for assembling such an impressive ownership group to create such an ideal model?

The visionary and managing partner is Keith Horneker.  We met with Keith to get more familiar with the establishment.  The design, the business model, assembling the ownership group, and the idea to get Brett Hull involved are all credited to Keith.

Not only is Keith responsible for the model itself, but he is also responsible for most of the operations, with the support of a great management team and staff behind him involving up to 120 employees.  It is a big operation!  It is the biggest restaurant operation in the region, excluding Ball Park Village.

Every year, Brett Hull’s Junction House offers a special buffet on Easter, Mother’s Day, & Father’s Day.  This year, their Mother’s Day Buffet served almost 1500 guests.  However, having such success can also lead to the cause & effect of creating some negative reviews as well.  Given the overwhelming demand, the event required reservations, but the atmosphere created an eat, drink, and relax type of atmosphere, which caused delays in customers being seated on time, which in turn created some additional negative and low reviews.  The abundance of reservations and customers wanting to hang around for longer than originally expected helped make the event successful but also caused some others frustration and disappointment in the delays that were faced as the outcome.  This type of negative response is a bad problem to have in a good way.  Overall, the event was a major success, and the majority of customers who attended were beyond satisfied with the food and experience that was received.

The venue is becoming increasingly popular as customers can rent out various areas of the establishment, such as the Outdoor Patio and Open-Aired Rooftop areas, for all sorts of different kinds of Private Events.  There are not many venues that can offer the type of space, food, and ambiance that one would receive by hosting their Private Event at Junction House.  Fortunately, for Junction House they’re able to offer something that is unmatched from anywhere else in St Charles County.

The establishment can serve up to 432 guests at the various dining and bar areas offered, and yes, there is an elevator.  Again, no expense was spared on this facility when it was designed to create the ultimate dining experience.

Various events are frequently put on to entertain guests.  There are a number of hotels generally close for those that want to stay nearby.

We highly recommend this establishment, but to be honest, writing everything that should be written about this institution, which includes the visionary, the Junction House brand, the facility, the staff, and the food & drink menu, would result in a book rather than an article.  This is the longest review we have published, but it is required to help summarize the amazing concept and experience that this venue provides.

Address, Phone, & Email:

1311 Lodora Drive

Wentzville, Missouri 63385

Phone: +1 314-375-4855

Email: Contact@Junction-House.com

Website: Junction-House.com



Links:

- Wikipedia - Brett Hull

- STL.News Listing

- STL.Directory Listing
https://stlouisrestaurantreview.com/brett-hulls-junction-house-restaurant-review/

No comments:

Post a Comment