Damn Fine Hand Pies is opening a second St. Louis bakery next month, moving into the former Vincent Van Doughnut building at 1072 Tower Grove Ave in The Grove. The new concept, called Damn Fine Anytime, is tentatively set to open in the first half of October with a morning menu built around coffee, pastries, hand pies and grab-and-go breakfast options.
The expansion marks a turning point for a business that started small. According to Sauce Magazine, Damn Fine Hand Pies began as a side venture selling hand pies before founder Madeline Hissong launched the business in 2021, initially baking through the night to prepare up to 1,000 items for weekend crowds at the Tower Grove Farmers Market, according to KSDK. Hissong later brought on Gene Bailey as co-owner, and the pair moved production into a commercial kitchen at Christ Church in Maplewood before opening their first brick-and-mortar location at 4000 Shaw Blvd. in June 2024.
Now the duo says they've simply outgrown that setup. Per the same Sauce Magazine report, Hissong and Bailey sought a larger commissary space, and the church basement kitchen in Maplewood could no longer keep pace with demand. Hissong told the outlet she was initially resistant to opening a second location at all, but the need for more production room, plus the opportunity at 1072 Tower Grove Ave, changed her mind.
A Turnkey Bakery Becomes Available
The Tower Grove Avenue building has its own baking pedigree. The space was established as a brick-and-mortar bakery in 2017 by Vincent Van Doughnut founder Vincent Marsden, who had originally launched the doughnut concept out of a vintage food truck in 2014 after winning Cooking Channel's Donut Showdown, according to Sauce Magazine. Marsden sold the business to employee Michael McKinlay in July 2024, but Vincent Van Doughnut permanently closed the storefront in April, announcing an equipment auction following repeated operational disruptions, per KSDK. Hoodline previously covered the shop's rocky road before its final shutdown.
That closure created an opening for Hissong and Bailey. Damn Fine Hand Pies acquired most of the existing bakery equipment already in place at 1072 Tower Grove Ave, allowing the owners to sidestep a major capital outlay while solving their commissary space problem in one move, the Sauce Magazine report notes. The address sits at the intersection of Tower Grove and Manchester Avenues, directly adjacent to calzone shop Sauce on the Side and about half a mile north of Union Loafers Cafe & Bread Bakery, which recently quadrupled its own bread production at a new McKinley Heights facility.
Mornings Built Around Coffee and Croissants
Damn Fine Anytime is tentatively planning to open from 6 a.m. to noon seven days a week, with a smaller morning menu than the Shaw location offers, and less emphasis on an extensive made-to-order lineup. The morning offerings will include breakfast sandwiches on house-made croissants or brioche, along with croissants and other breakfast pastries. The new location aims to serve people heading to work along with nearby hospital and Cortex employees, a nod to The Grove's location bordering the 200-acre Cortex Innovation Community and major medical campuses like Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
That laminated pastry program exists thanks to Saphira Bustos, who joined Damn Fine Hand Pies as a front-of-house cashier and barista before spending several months researching and developing croissant recipes. Bustos now leads Damn Fine Anytime's laminated pastry program, and Hissong has praised her work on the project.
Pizza, Paninis and Late-Night Ambitions
Beyond the morning rush, Hissong and Bailey are developing hoagie rolls and sandwiches, and the new location will offer hot sandwiches, pies and paninis as the menu builds out. Hissong plans to bring back pizza, something she previously made at the Tower Grove Farmers Market, and Damn Fine Anytime may serve pizza and hand pies late at night, with evening hours potentially running from 6 p.m. to midnight on select days. Bailey's favorite meatball sub could also make an appearance on that expanded menu, according to the report.
Hissong and Bailey plan to evolve the new location's menu and hours based on experience once the doors open, and they hope to eventually develop Damn Fine Anytime into a late-night destination. Hissong said she wants to start customers' days off positively, and she hopes the Grove location will reach a different customer base than the Shaw storefront draws. The owners say they're excited to meet new regulars in the neighborhood.
A Shifting Grove Dining Scene
The move lands amid real churn along The Grove's commercial corridor. The neighborhood has seen significant turnover in 2026, including the August closure of 22-year-old Everest Cafe and the September closure of 9-year-old Grace Meat + Three, both tied to rising labor and inventory costs. Fast-casual morning concepts are increasingly stepping into spaces once held by full-service dining, and Damn Fine Anytime's counter-service, lower-overhead model fits that pattern.
Damn Fine Hand Pies has also built its profile beyond the neighborhood. The bakery serves as a food vendor at Energizer Park, home to St. Louis CITY SC, where stadium food operations data published by Forbes in September 2025 found that 65 percent of food sales occur before kickoff as fans arrive up to 90 minutes early to eat local offerings. That stadium exposure has helped raise the brand's regional profile heading into the Grove expansion.
