A burger chain that received an early investment from former NFL quarterback Drew Brees has proposed a drive-thru restaurant on the old Kmart lot along New Halls Ferry Road. A site-plan and special-use permit request proposes a Smalls Sliders location designated as Lot 2 at 14260 New Halls Ferry Road.
A Vacant Kmart Gives Way to New Development
The parcel sat empty for years as a long-vacant Kmart store before the building was demolished using private funds at no cost to municipal taxpayers, according to the City of Florissant. Wallis Oil purchased the site at auction and built a Brite Worx Car Wash on 1.5 acres at 14250 New Halls Ferry Road in December 2025, the first new business to open on the redeveloped land and leaving nearly eight acres available for additional lots like the one now proposed for Smalls Sliders.
The proposed restaurant is the subject of a site-plan and special-use permit request. The St. Louis Business Journal has reported plans for additional Smalls Sliders locations in the St. Louis area.
Brand Already Rolling Out Across the Region
Smalls Sliders' first St. Louis-area location opened in Bridgeton by mid-2025. A location in Ellisville was underway by August 2025, and additional St. Louis-area locations have also been planned.
The chain was founded in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2019 by restaurant entrepreneur Brandon Landry and received an early investment from Brees, according to the St. Louis Roamer. The concept has grown rapidly, with more than 30 locations across the South and lower Midwest. The chain has Cans open or in development in multiple states.
Modular Cans and a High-Capacity Drive-Thru
The company calls its modular restaurant structures Cans. The Florissant proposal includes dual drive-through service.
Traffic Safety Looms Over the Corridor
The site sits along a 2.5-mile stretch of New Halls Ferry Road that the Missouri Department of Transportation has targeted for a roughly $7 million safety overhaul starting around March 2027, as Hoodline previously reported. That project was prompted by crash rates significantly higher than the Missouri state average and recorded speeds reaching 70 mph, with MoDOT's planned fixes including medians, lane reductions, and sidewalk installations.
Whether the proposed drive-thru will ease or add to congestion along that corridor remains to be seen; the proposal includes dual drive-through service. The council passed the bill allowing the restaurant.
