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Foodie fest to highlight great local foods in downtown St. Louis this weekend 54%
By Lara Hamdan0%
5/1/2026, 10:00:00 AM
Topics: St Louis Food Scene, Local Events
BS Summary: This article contains 30 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Indoctrination, and Anecdotal, with Attempt to Sell a Product or Service as the most egregious example at 44.5% saturation with 340 hits. Analysis detected 1,724 faulty-reasoning hits from 764 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 52.1% and a BS Rank of 54% (7,853 of 16,813 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 53.30% of the article peer group.
This weekend’s Foodies Eat First Fest in downtown St.
Louis is Braden Tewolde’s “love letter to St.
Louis.”
Tewolde, a food and lifestyle content creator also known as BradENstl, launched the festival last year because he felt like local eateries deserved more recognition from the community.
But this year’s festivities will be bigger.
The two-day event will span two weekends, one in May and a larger one in August, and showcases culinary creations of local chefs, restaurants and mixologists at a discounted price.
“It’s one of the best-kept secrets in the entire city because you're just like, ‘Wait, what?
I'm eating this for that much?’”
Tewolde said.
After admission, which starts at $40, offerings are between $4 and $8.
Because Tewolde said he believes in the “future foodies of America,” kids under 12 years old get in for free with the purchase of an adult ticket.
“I'm so grateful for the chefs and everyone that's part of it,” he said.
“We have chefs where their dinner could be four- or five-course dinners that are $150, literally selling plates for like $8 in this festival.
It's so unheard of.”
It’s also a party with DJs and takes place at Trust, a downtown art gallery and event space.
“We extend out to the street,” he added.
“It's the ultimate foodie festival in St.
Louis.”
Participants for the May 2-3 event include: Nicky Slices Pizza Club, Good Company, Umoja Food Group, FUFU n’ Sauce, STL Toasted, La Chica Bonita, Crispy Sips, the Moniker, Ozzy’s Market, Chef Bailey & Co., Puddin Puddin, Pass the Past Coffee, Chico Bueno, the Table, Ramblin’ Rounds, Tenacious Eats, Amy’s Cake Pop Shop, Steve’s Hot Dogs, Dad’s Cookies, Trust and 4 Hands Brewing Co.
A perhaps unexpected partner this time around?
The Muny, which has its “Meet Me in St.
Louis” production later this year.
The iconic musical is set during the 1904 World’s Fair.
“If we're going to talk about the 1904 World’s Fair, what if we provided a modern take on some of the dishes that came out of there?
And so [Chef Liz Schuster of Tenacious Eats] is going to come up with some dishes inspired by 1904,” Tewolde said.
The festival also features giveaways, surprises and different activities at each session.
Proceeds from ticket sales will also go toward tornado recovery efforts and local nonprofits, including Action St.
Louis, Grassroots Redeeming Love, PARC and Team Jakey.
“I think it's important for us to influence and inspire people to create positive content in our city and always figure out a way to give back,” he said.
“St.
Louis has to become whole, we cannot ignore any part of our city.”
Leading the way
Tewolde is among the first content creators who started producing videos about the St.
Louis-area food scene, launching his professional social media channels in 2020.
“You cannot scroll your phone now without seeing St.
Louis food, right?”
he said.
“It wasn't always like that.”
Tewolde said he was inspired by his family’s favorite local restaurants and wanted to showcase their offerings.
“Mom and pops are what makes our city special.
Most of my greatest memories are at these spots; anniversaries, birthdays,” he said.
“At that time, you didn't know who was selling what, and so I just saw an opportunity to help.
“I knew that there were five things that brought people together: food, music, laughter, sports and art.
Unfortunately, some people don't care for art, they don't care for sports, music.
They don't care to laugh — but we all got to eat,” he added.
His personable and casual approach to showcasing the local food and event happenings helped him grow his online following and get millions of likes and views on his videos.
“I don't really hold a tripod,” he said.
“Most of the time I'm sitting at the table, maybe with my wife, or whoever, and I'll just put my phone up against the glass of water, and I'll take a bite.”
He wants the Foodies Eat First Fest to also be an opportunity for emerging content creators.
“Instead of just living what you see on social media, I've created a space where you can go live it,” he said.
“And if you want to be like, ‘Hey, what is it like to be a content creator?’
You can come create content, like, this is your spot.”
Tickets for the Foodies Eat First Fest on May 2-3 are now on sale and will also be available for purchase at the door.
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