Danni Eickenhorst
Photo provided by Danni Eickenhorst
5(ish) Questions for is a chance to discover and learn about St. Louis Creatives, Community Champions, and, well, just interesting people in and around our city. It's a deep dive into what they love and where their passion lies. It's an opportunity for all of us to see our region from a different perspective. This written interview is a peek into their lives and their outlook on St. Louis.
Hey, Danni! Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a restaurant owner and a passionate advocate - but most of all I'm a community builder hoping to leave the St. Louis region a little better than I found it. While I own a number of small businesses, my primary focus day-to-day are our two restaurants - The Fountain on Locust and Steve’s Hot Dogs. Each restaurant represents an iconic St. Louis brand - and both are vessels through which we hope to make a major impact in the St. Louis community.
How did you get started?
I grew up in Central Illinois. St. Louis was always a special place where we’d come for vacation. Launching my career in St. Louis, I was immediately drawn to iconic brands and organizations that helped to preserve, stabilize, and grow the St. Louis region. I spent years working as a storyteller and communications expert focusing primarily on start-ups, small businesses and nonprofits, including The Salvation Army, the United Way, Great Rivers Greenway during the initial phases of CityArchRiver, Bike St. Louis, I Love Ferguson, Steve’s Hot Dogs, and more. Through that work, I was able to make a tangible impact in the community.
In early 2020, Steve Ewing, a friend and former client, reached out to me asking me for help with closing his restaurant Steve’s Hot Dogs. As I helped him craft and execute his farewell message, the underlying support from the community became very evident, and we ultimately decided to partner and relaunch the restaurant. This was 3 weeks before the pandemic closed our dining room. My husband (an accountant), Steve (the visionary), and I (the voice and tech guru) ran the restaurant on a shoestring of resources as we navigated all that COVID threw at us, pivoting this way and that - but ultimately, we we were able to help the brand recover, and to grow and expand Steve’s Hot Dogs to a larger location on South Grand.
Photo provided by Danni Eickenhorst
In October 2021, we took over ownership of The Fountain on Locust, as visionary founder Joy Grdnic retired. Joy and her husband Ron had long watched my work in the community, and most recently, how Marcus (my husband) and I had worked with Steve to help Steve’s Hot Dogs. She chose us as her successors in this business - something that still floors me.
In the span of two years, our entire lives shifted from corporate America to the hospitality industry - and we couldn’t be more grateful for this unexpected shift.
What are some unique or innovative approaches you’re taking in your businesses?
You can look at both of our businesses and see my background bleeding through a bit. With so much work in the non-profit and community-building space, my restaurants have become a vessel through which we try to make a positive impact on the community.
Steve’s Hot Dogs has given more than 6,000 meals to those in need and first responders in the St. Louis community since 2020 through our Feed The People program - which is funded by our customers through one-time and sustaining purchases throughout the year. The Fountain has begun to develop roots in our arts district and is finding new and exciting ways to support the programs that make Grand Center, Midtown Alley and the Locust Business District such an epicenter for art of all forms.
Marcus and I are big believers that a rising tide raises all boats - and we hope that by planting small seeds like this in our community, it benefits our immediate neighborhood, our employees, and the community at large.
How is your industry evolving?
I think the restaurant industry is always on the bleeding edge of innovation - as we saw in 2020 and restaurants made immediate shifts online to survive. Today, we are starting to see more automated services, a heavier reliance on delivery, and the rise of ghost kitchens. In addition, the way that people eat is changing - with a heavier trend toward shareables than large plates. We are always working to stay in step with what’s next.
What are your goals in the next year, or the next 5 years?
Marcus and I have a dream of building a world big enough that all of the talented people within it can choose to stay with us and grow with us if they so choose. We believe in investing in our people and opportunities that will support their growth - whether those are learning opportunities, the launch of a new business or the acquisition of an existing business. We have some incredibly talented people working with us, who have thankfully chosen to partner with us day-to-day in their careers. We know that they will outgrow the opportunities that we can provide if we don’t continue to grow and create new opportunities in partnership with them. To that end, Steve’s Hot Dogs and The Fountain on Locust will not be the last businesses you see from our family. We look forward to expanding Steve’s, to growing the Fountain, to launching new concepts and to potentially acquiring and reinventing additional businesses in St. Louis in the years to come. Keep an eye on our team.
What do you do in your spare time?
In addition to traveling, cycling, and getting together with friends, meditation and mindfulness have become a passion in recent years. When your mind is “on” all the time like ours tend to be as entrepreneurs always thinking of what’s next, it is so essential to take a deep breath, to recenter and to reset. Those quiet moments allow me to tackle each day with my priorities in focus - ready to receive opportunities that come our way with clarity, focus and clear intentions.
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