Einstein Bros. Bagels, Creve Coeur: Restaurant Tenant Improvement in an Occupied Retail Center
Einstein Bros. Bagels in Creve Coeur is a restaurant tenant improvement inside an occupied retail center. Salem Developments performed the framing, drywall, ceilings, painting and interior finishes, working around neighboring tenants and the center's rules while the space was built out for opening.
Project at a glance
Client type: national fast-casual restaurant brand
Location: Creve Coeur, MO (St. Louis County)
Project type: restaurant tenant improvement in an occupied shopping center
Salem's role: self-performing interior contractor
Trades self-performed: metal stud framing, drywall and finishing, ceilings, interior painting, finishes
Completed: 2026
Scope
The interior was reframed for the restaurant layout: front counter and service line, dining area, back-of-house, restrooms and storage. Salem framed the partitions, including the wet-area and kitchen-adjacent walls, hung and finished the board, installed the ceilings and completed the paint and finish package to the brand's finish schedule.
What made it different
Occupied center. Deliveries, debris removal, noise and dust had to follow the landlord's rules and avoid disrupting neighboring tenants during business hours. Protection, work hours and loading were planned before mobilization, not improvised.
Kitchen coordination. Restaurant walls carry hood, grease-waste, beverage and electrical rough-ins. Framing and board followed the equipment cut sheets and the MEP rough-in so nothing had to be reopened.
Brand standards. Prototype finish schedules were checked against the actual shell and field dimensions, which is where franchise build-outs usually drift from the drawings.
Why it matters for your project
If you are a franchisee opening in a St. Louis shopping center, or a rollout GC that needs a local interior crew that can work an occupied center, this is the kind of job Salem is set up for.
Planning a restaurant build-out in St. Louis?
Send the plans, the landlord work letter and your target opening date through the commercial bid request form or call (636) 298-9013. See more projects and our restaurant build-out guide.
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