Foodies Eat First Fest is leveling up in downtown St. Louis. Organizers say the homegrown food festival will stretch across two separate weekends in 2026 and roll out a new citywide Foodies Eat First Restaurant Week from Sept. 1–13, a move designed to spread the spotlight and the spending to more chefs, restaurants and neighborhoods.
The 2026 season is set to open with Foodies Eat First Fest 2.1 on May 2–3 at Trust in downtown St. Louis, with four sessions across the weekend and a curated lineup. A second late‑August weekend, branded as 2.2, will follow, with lineup details for that installment scheduled to drop June 1. According to Foodies Eat First, Early Bird tickets went live on March 14 and General Admission followed on April 1, giving attendees multiple tiers and session times to choose from. Organizers say the two‑weekend format lets them repeat the signature program while opening up more room for both crowd size and vendor variety.
“Food has always been one of the most powerful ways to bring people together,” festival founder Braden Tewolde, better known locally as BradENSTL, said as he described the expansion. Tewolde told Sauce Magazine that the May dates were picked to sync with other downtown activity and to help pull visitors in from outside the metro.
Restaurant Week Will Span The City
The new Foodies Eat First Restaurant Week, slated for Sept. 1–13, is billed as a citywide showcase of prix‑fixe menus, chef tastings and special collaborations meant to nudge diners into neighborhoods across the region instead of keeping them in one corridor. As outlined by Foodies Eat First, programming will feature chef collaborations, guest tastings and “citywide activations” highlighting both established favorites and up‑and‑coming concepts.
Tickets, Lineup And Community Giveback
Local coverage lists a mix of booths and restaurant partners for the May weekend and notes that organizers are planning for a noticeably larger August run, with roughly 30 vendors and a projected capacity in the 4,000–5,000 range. Sauce Magazine also reports that the inaugural 2025 festival raised nearly $7,000 for St. Louis‑area tornado relief and $2,000 for The Trevor Project, and organizers say a portion of 2026 ticket sales will again be reinvested in community efforts. The May lineup blends longtime local staples with newer names to give attendees a wide‑angle look at the city’s food scene.
Local Coverage And Timing
The expansion grabbed airtime on KSDK’s “Show Me St. Louis,” which featured a segment on the festival’s growth and the debut of Restaurant Week. As reported by KSDK, organizers are pitching the multi‑weekend and citywide approach as a way to spread foot traffic to more restaurants, rather than packing everyone into a single crowded downtown day.
For both locals and visitors planning a food‑centric weekend, the expanded festival and new restaurant week stretch St. Louis’ culinary calendar and create more chances to sample the city’s restaurants. Expect additional lineup announcements and activation details over the coming months as the 2.2 weekend and restaurant‑week programming are finalized.
