After a months-long buildout, 9 Mile Garden in Affton is back open for summer and thinking a lot bigger. The family-focused food-truck garden, one of Missouri’s first when it debuted in July 2020, has added a large indoor concert and events venue that organizers say will keep the party going regardless of what the weather decides to do. The outdoor side of the operation is not going anywhere, but the new space gives the team room to host larger indoor concerts, private parties and weddings.
New indoor space next to the garden
Developer and owner Seneca Commercial Real Estate repurposed an adjacent retail space to create the new indoor event center and patio, with BEX Construction Services handling the buildout, according to Seneca Commercial Real Estate. The project added roll-up doors that connect the indoor hall directly to the outdoor garden, a feature that will help staff move many outdoor activations inside when needed, per Seneca Commercial Real Estate. Organizers say the buildout was designed specifically to keep live entertainment and events on the calendar instead of on hold every time the forecast turns sketchy, according to Seneca Commercial Real Estate.
Stage, LED wall and room for crowds
The new indoor hall comes in at about 18,000 square feet and is built with concert-sized crowds in mind. It includes a stage outfitted with an LED wall, full concert lighting and professional sound technology, and can hold roughly 1,000 guests for larger ticketed shows, according to Ladue News. Organizers told Ladue News they hope the added capacity will help the site grow into more weddings, corporate functions and other year-round programming.
Food trucks and the Canteen
Even with the shiny new indoor hall, 9 Mile Garden is still built around its food trucks. The venue works with a roster of roughly 40 rotating vendors and can scale up the lineup on busier nights, according to its published calendar. Inside, a new bar will replace part of The Canteen, and the original Canteen space is slated to become a marijuana dispensary after the move, per the venue’s website at 9 Mile Garden.
More shows, fewer weather cancellations
Organizers say the indoor expansion should cut down on weather-related cancellations and make ticketed programming more dependable throughout the season. Events manager Ryan Kelley described the garden as family-friendly and welcoming to leashed dogs in comments to Ladue News. Local TV coverage also noted that the park implemented a ban on sports equipment earlier this summer after safety complaints and injuries, according to First Alert 4.
Plan ahead
9 Mile Garden posts its event calendar and seasonal hours on its website. Current hours are Wednesday–Thursday 4:00 pm–10:00 pm, Friday–Saturday 4:00 pm–midnight and Sunday noon–6:00 pm. For tickets and bookings, visitors are directed to use the venue calendar or call (314) 390-2806, per 9 Mile Garden.
