Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley on Taking Their Rock & Brews Restaurant Nationwide

Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, best known for their lead roles in the rock band KISS, were on hand on January 11 to give back to the military in Chesterfield, Missouri, at the celebration of their 20th Rock & Brews. The 8,600-square-foot restaurant in the St. Louis suburb opened its doors in November, but Simmons and Stanley, who are part owners in the chain, did an opening in grand fashion.

“Rock and Brews thrives everywhere we open because it is so much more than a theme restaurant,” explained Stanley when the band sat down with The Daily Meal for an interview. “Theme restaurants are usually a way to sell some part of food, and maybe to buy a t-shirt. This is a restaurant. We have 80 beers on tap here and the food is bar none, as top shelf as it gets. This is food you can be proud to serve at home. It doesn’t need the great ambiance of this place, it enhances it, certainly, but it’s the staff, the food, and the culture that we thrive on.”

The restaurant seats 300 and has an L-shaped 1,600 square foot patio, where children can enjoy the play area. Dogs are also welcome to sit with their owners on the patio and have dinner from a menu of their own, which includes items such as Addie’s Feast: homemade roasted chicken, brown rice, sweet potatoes, and vegetables.

 The décor of the St. Louis Rock & Brews is filled with vintage posters, banners, and record albums. “This is not about living in the past, this is about being in the present and being in the company of a lot of the artists who made us who we are,” said Stanley when asked about the similarity to restaurants such as Hard Rock. “The idea of having a dead musician’s scarf on the wall is not what this place is about.”

“As you can see, there’s a lot of great vintage videos [on the television screens] and music. This place is built on classic music. That is the foundation of what this is,” he added.

Gene Simmons agreed with his partner. “The best thing to do is to know what you can do and what you shouldn’t do,” he added. “We don’t micromanage our mobile partners. We can’t be everywhere and do everything. We really shouldn’t be. The best thing we can do is stay on course and make sure the brand is real. That there is a legitimate, ethical, and moral way of doing things, which is why we make sure that every single opening of every Rock and Brews is devoted to our veterans.”

“That’s why, when we first open our doors, we make sure that we give checks to, in this case, Fisher House, and a few other charities which help the vets when they return to find their way back to society and to take care of their emotional and physical needs, and their families,” Stanley added.

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