But there’s a good reason that we find ourselves chatting in one of the fast-casual burger spot’s johns, and it’s covering the walls: framed copies of Sports Illustrated, each affixed with a unique mailing label created by Kelling. The one nearest me belongs to Elizabeth Lemon — Liz Lemon from 30 Rock — and I spot Jerry Seinfeld just a few covers away.
Below the name, each label bears an address that the character mentions in their show or book. The hardest one, Kelling says, came from Agatha Christie.
It was a lot of effort for fictional characters and fictional addresses, much less ones hanging on a bathroom wall, but it really gets at the heart of Burger Champ.
That’s because the restaurant is full of personal touch points for Kelling, from the restaurant’s name to its logo to its interior design to its menu.
“This is the first menu that I've created entirely of myself,” he says.
Kelling has been an integral part of the St. Louis restaurant scene for almost 15 years, though he’s always partnered with chefs and kept his focus on the hospitality. This is his second Maplewood restaurant in the Champ brand — he opened Pizza Champ with Adam Altnether in January 2022 — and he’d previously been lauded for his fine dining restaurant Elmwood, which fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, he worked for Gerard Craft’s Niche Food Group empire.
“I don’t want to be boastful, but I’ve done this for a very long time at very high levels,” he says. “I think I know what people like. And if I’m going to do this, and it’s all me this time, I’m going to make sure I approve of everything. I put everything I have into this.”
Kelling has little stories about many of the menu’s burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, sides and desserts that prove this. For example: the grain salad, which was missing something until he took it home and his wife suggested pesto would zing it up. It now has pesto. There’s also the Champ Burger, a double-layered smashburger, which Kelling calls his “platonic ideal.” Or the peanut butter and jelly milkshake, a nod to his frequent consumption of the iconic sandwich, and the strawberry milkshake.
“When I was a kid, I would only order strawberry milkshakes because my mom hates strawberries, so I wouldn't have to share it with her,” he says. “I hate sharing milkshakes.”
Then there are the French fries, a basket mounded with ultra skinny ones of both the standard and sweet potato variety. Kelling’s daughter had requested he put sweet potato fries on the menu, so he came up with this combo offering. They are delightfully crunchy and addictive, and Kelling sneaks them throughout the interview.
“I’m always snacking,” he admits — something, he says, that Burger Champ Chef Jeff Friesen “learned very quickly.”
Burger Champ’s green salad comes topped with chow mein noodles, a nod to a childhood love for grocery store salad bars. Friesen also witnessed just how fast Kelling can snack through bags of those crunchy noodles.
Personal touches are also readily apparent in the interior, which is bright and features bold red walls with graffiti-style versions of the Champ logo painted by two Wash U art students, Maddie Baker and Sarah Hawkes of Moxy Murals. Kelling’s Elmwood, which this space was previously home to, was known for its hospitality. Since Burger Champ won’t have servers — it’s an order at the bar or by QR code place — he carefully considered how to ensure that the hospitality element would be strong and decided it came down to hiring the right crew.
“It feels great,” he says. “Like, the Vikings burning the boats. This is everything I have. This is it. I hope people like it. I can say with 100 percent certainty that I’ve given this my all.”
But however much of Kelling might be in Burger Joint, he’s quick to point out that it’s not a solitary effort. There’s the team who made the food and drink happen (Friesen, Bangers Only co-owners Tim Wiggins and Kyle Mathis who developed the cocktail menu, pastry chef Matthew Rice who came up with the shakes), the branding company Yellow Ranger, which designed the crown logo; custom furniture maker David Stine; and so many others.
“I'm fortunate; I've always been surrounded by really great people since I came to St. Louis in 2009,” Kelling says. “It’s pretty humbling to have that many people help you bring something to life. It’s pretty cool.”
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