St. Charles City Council amends liquor license rules to allow cooking school to sell alcohol

The St. Charles City Council on Monday approved amending the city’s liquor license rules to allow a cooking school to sell beer and wine.

Fox Den Cooking has been teaching cooking classes at 131 S. First St. in downtown St. Charles. The space formerly housed Knead: Urban Eatery, which closed in October 2021 because of the challenges presented by the pandemic.

The restaurant, which specialized in gourmet sandwiches built with daily fresh baked bread, first opened in December 2020. Fox Den owner Anthony Gargano also owns Osteria Bigolaro restaurant in Geneva.

“This is a new business venture looking to capitalize on the culinary arts and entertainment industry by offering cooking classes with beer and wine sales,” St. Charles Police Chief James Keegan said in a memo to St. Charles Mayor Lora Vitek, who is the city’s liquor commissioner.

The business is open from 4:30 to 10:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The cooking school teaches 12 students at a time in two-hour sessions.