About Chef Gerard Craft

Niche Food Group is based in St. Louis, Missouri and owned by executive chef Gerard Craft. As a Food & Wine Best New Chef, Food & Wine Innovator of the Year, 2015 James Beard Foundation Award-winning Best Chef: Midwest, and Inc. Magazine Star Entrepreneur, Chef Craft has been a pioneer for the Midwest dining scene.

A native of Washington, D.C., Chef Craft became addicted to the restaurant life while living in Salt Lake City as a snowboard photographer. Chef Craft went on to cook at Bistro Toujours in Park City, Utah and Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, California as well as stage at Ryland Inn in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey before making the leap to open a restaurant of his own.

Always a believer in following intuition, Chef Craft settled on a boarded-up building in the Benton Park neighborhood of St. Louis, a city that he had never visited, to open his first restaurant, Niche, at the age of 25 in 2005.

Niche Food Group has expanded its culinary offerings, with a diverse array of restaurants spanning 8 locations in St. Louis (will be 9 with Expat) and one in Nashville, Tennessee. These include Brasserie by Niche, known for its French bistro fare; Pastaria, serving up approachable Italian cuisine; Pastaria Deli & Wine, a unique combination of deli, wine, and retail shop adjacent to Pastaria. Additionally, Bowood by Niche offers a cozy brunch and lunch spot situated within Bowood Farms Garden Center; BrassBurger, serving laid-back burgers and brats; The Kitchen Bar, serving wine, local beer, and craft cocktails at City Foundry STL Food Hall; Fordo's Killer Pizza, a wood-fired pizza kitchen located inside St. Louis’ only food hall City Foundry STL; None of the Above, an underground speakeasy-style cocktail bar hidden in the tunnels beneath City Foundry STL; and Porano, an Italian-inspired fast-casual concept, with Expat BBQ, opening in September 2024.

Judi Diamond