The Ballwin couple brings Arnold a unique restaurant filled with sweet and savory dishes.
Jen and Tim Heilwagner plan to open a St. Louis Kolache restaurant at 1249 Water Tower Plaza, a shopping plaza on Jeffco Boulevard adjacent to the Schnucks grocery store.
“Arnold was a very deliberate choice.
“I’m a big supporter of Arnold’s community. We feel very connected here with our customers and staff. It’s a great place to do business.”
Jen, 42, and Tim, 52, plan to open the franchise in the space that once housed the J Sushi restaurant in early January.
“We take over the existing restaurant space, so it’s less of a burden to build out than it would be to start the restaurant from scratch,” says Jen.
Corache is a pastry brought to Texas by Czech settlers. They are made from sweet yeast dough and may be filled with fruit, cheese, or meat.
“You can put almost anything in it,” Jen said. “They can get very creative with their recipes. A sweet colache is a pastry-type danish that’s available at a bakery. “
There are currently seven Kolash restaurants in the St. Louis area of Illinois and Alabama, according to the company’s website.
Jen said she and Tim decided to open a store in Arnold’s because her husband wanted a career change and because he fell in love with the product after visiting the Ballwyn store.
“Tim has worked in the IT industry for over 30 years and wanted a change of pace,” she said. “He wanted something completely different. We are huge fans of St. Louis Kolache. .
“We’ve been going[to St. Louis Collash in Ballwyn]for about four years. We’d be there every day if we could.”
Arnold’s hours of operation are 6 AM to 2 PM Monday through Friday and 7 AM to 2 PM Saturday and Sunday.
Jenn said she and her husband plan to hire about 10 employees.
The restaurant will also offer catering, she said, allowing customers to order from the location through food delivery services such as Grubhub and DoorDash.
The menu mirrors other St. Louis kolash restaurants offering sweet kolashes such as apple pie and double chocolate brownies, as well as savory options such as sausage and gravy for breakfast and Philadelphia cheesesteak for lunch.
“Breakfast sausage and gravy is one of my favorites. It’s phenomenal,” Jen said. “At lunch, they (Ballwin shop owner) have partnered with his Pappy’s Smokehouse and Gioia’s Deli to offer a signature colache that is phenomenal. ”
Jen said neither she nor Tim had any experience running a restaurant or making kolaches, but they were unafraid to venture into the food service industry.
“The support from the St. Louis Collash franchisor is so strong that there is absolutely no reason to hesitate,” she said.
“They are great partners.
“It just felt natural to work with food that makes people happy.”
The Heil Wagner family has four children – Tony (23), Michael (20), Olivia (16) and Alex (7).