The team behind the Affton food-truck park and entertainment venue 9 Mile Garden will open a similar project this spring in Cottleville.
Frankie Martin’s Garden will feature food trucks, a stage for live entertainment, a whiskey and wine bar and more on 2.74 acres at 5372 St. Charles Street.
For Frankie Martin’s Garden, the 9 Mile Garden duo of managing partner Brian Hardesty and Larry Chapman of Seneca Commercial Real Estate have been joined by co-owners Jeff and David Kolb of Kolb Grading, Tom Mohan of Chapman Ventures and Michael and Kate Reiter of Cottleville Ventures.
Frankie Martin’s Garden is named in honor of — and occupies the former property of — the late Cottleville resident Frank Martin, who was “very much a fixture in the community,” Hardesty tells Off the Menu.
Martin’s former residence will become the venue’s bar, which will feature wine and a selection of more than 230 whiskies. This bar and other amenities such as pickleball courts and an outdoor beer pavilion distinguish Frankie Martin’s from 9 Mile.
“We want to have each one of these (venues) that we do have alternate things to do and different features so people have reasons to visit all of them,” Hardesty says.
The outdoor area will also offer picnic benches, pergolas and fire pits.
The rotation of food trucks at Frankie Martin’s will overlap with the pool of trucks at 9 Mile. Trucks operate at 9 Mile under a membership agreement. With the addition of Frankie Martin’s, there is now a “tiered” membership, Hardesty says. Trucks can choose to visit both venues during the season or only one of the two.
Participating trucks mentioned in Thursday’s official announcement of Frankie Martin’s include Beast Craft BBQ, the Crooked Boot, Doggie Mac’s, Ukraft and Zacchi.
Frankie Martin’s Garden will be open for lunch and dinner daily. For now, the targeted opening date is sometime this spring.
9 Mile Garden, which debuted in July 2020 at 9375 Gravois Road in Affton, returns for its third season March 1.
