NEWS

Thanks to Rodney and Julie Fickas who are about to open the Good News Brewing Company in the old Ferguson Brew House building.

I asked Rodney what inspired him to open up a brewing company? He replied, “It started with beer.” Long ago he home-brewed his own beer, giving him a love for craft beers and of course pizza. He and his wife moved to Ferguson to set tables that foster community. Soulcraft was their first table, and they look forward to having our community gather at the Good News Brewing table.

In 2016, Dan Tripp, started his first brewing company in O’Fallon Missouri. That location has since closed; however, he has locations in Defiance,  Frenchtown, and Wildwood. Dan has plans in the works for opening a couple more locations in 2026. Last year Good News Brewing opened its first franchise store in Alton IL.

What is Good News Brewing?

The name “Good News” has a unique meaning. It is not a restaurant or a bar. They are a brewpub with a mission to build communities with craft beer and wood-fired pizza. They are about creating tables within a community. A friendly, family, laid-back gathering place where people come together to share good news. It’s like a coffee house concept where people regularly meet to have a cup of coffee. Good News Brewing is where people can bring their family, meet a friend or even meet a stranger.

Where to Gather?

Having a gathering place for people to come together was natural for him and his wife. Rodney helped some friends open the location in Alton and decided one in their hometown of Ferguson would be good. When he found out the Brew House was closing, this was an opportune location for his new business.

Need a fun and unique spot to host your party, wedding, or special event? “The Commons” is their upstairs event space that will accommodate up to 100 people.

What’s on Tap?

For the craft beer lovers, you won’t be disappointed with 12 tappers flowing with a wide variety of crafted beers straight out of Augusta, Missouri where the brewing takes place. “Good News”, seasonal beers will be making their way throughout the year. Two extra taps will feature some throwback Ferguson brews. You will have to come in person to see what’s coming out of those specialty taps. The Gorilla is not going away. It will be part of the atmosphere. Rodney says, “Be on the hunt for Mighty Joe.”

What’s on the Menu?

Sourdough Wood-fired pizzas. A large assortments of salads, smash burgers, chicken wings, and a large assortment of pub grub along with regular and specialty sandwiches.

Gather with Good News Brewing!

At the time of this interview, Rodney and his crew are finishing up the renovations and are expected to be open by mid-April.

Hours: Every day of the week from 11am to 9pm
Address: 418 S Florissant Rd. Ferguson 63135
Website: goodnewsbrewing.com

Good News continues to abound in Ferguson now with it’s second new restaurant opening in the last two months. Let’s come out and support all of our new and existing businesses. Then go out and share this Good News with everyone you know!

Meet the owners of the new Ferguson Chophouse, Kirk Saunders and Kevin Green. Neither of these guys are strangers to the restaurant business.

Kirk Saunders started working for his father at the early age of 14 as a busboy at the West Bourgh Country Club. He found his passion and has been in the restaurant industry all his life. He continued on working as a waiter, maître d during his career, and as a front house manager these last 22 years. Now he is fulfilling a lifelong dream with his good friend Kevin, owning his own restaurant.

Kevin Green’s formal training started back in the early 90’s as a chef who graduated from Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky, as well as The Culinary Institute of America in New York. Since then, he’s led kitchens at a senior living facility and at Kreis’ Steakhouse in Frontenac. He was a chef for Guido’s “On The Hill” in St. Louis and Charlie Gitto’s. In 2020 he and his wife Marion opened their own restaurant – West End Bistro, an upscale fine dining restaurant in the Central West End.

Now this dynamic duo is coming together at the former Vincenzo’s Restaurant to bring Ferguson an array of dishes that will tempt your appetite. Their menu will feature some favorite appetizers like toasted ravioli, shrimp scampi along with oyster Rockefeller as well as weekly chef specials. Their salads will be changing with the different seasons of the year. For dinner there’s a nice selections of steaks, chicken, lamb chops, and weekly chef seafood specials. You will still find a couple of old Vincenzo’s favorites, like lasagna and fettuccine on the menu. You’ll need to save room for dessert. Chef Kevin is also a pastry chef. He will be making all of the desserts in house. Those of you who become regular patrons can request a special dish; if it’s in Kevin’s wheelhouse, he will certainly make it for your next visit. They have a full bar, with a wine list available from moderate to high end wines. Oh boy sounds delicious!

Kirk and Kevin will be opening with dinner only, Thursday through Monday from 4:30pm to 10:00pm. They will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. The back patio will open up once the weather gets nicer later in the spring. At the same time, they will also be open for lunch. The downstairs room is being refinished for private parties, business meetings and functions that can accommodate up to 60 people. This area will be ready later in March.

Kirk was asked by others why not just call the restaurant Chophouse? He said it is fitting to call it the “Ferguson Chophouse” as he is proud to open an upscale restaurant in Ferguson.

From drinks to desserts and everything in between there will be something for everyone at the Ferguson Chop House. So, make plans or reservations to come out and show your love and support to Kirk, Kevin and their staff for their commitment to our community.

Ferguson Chophouse
242 S Florissant Road Ferguson Mo. 63135
314–455-3720
website fergusonchophouse.com
Bon Appetit!

Story by Bob McGartland

I love February. It’s not because of Valentines day or Mardi Gras. It’s knowing that trout season will begin when this short month is over.

February seems to have a lot shoved in a short amount of month. It’s Black History Month, we have groundhog day, Lincolns birthday, Valentine’s day, Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), Ash Wednesday (Lent begins), Washington’s Birthday! Is there still a sweetheart stroll? If not, I’m sure there will be sweethearts still out there strolling.

As I sit here piecing this paper together it is 13 degrees and we are supposed to get snow this coming weekend. I finally got all my Christmas decorations down and am getting set up for Mardi Gras celebrations. We (as a community) are blessed to be a part of the French heritage here in the St. Louis area.

I read somewhere that St. Louis has a larger Mardi Gras celebration than New Orleans. Is that true? I like to think that we in this region have the best of whatever it is we have. The best baseball fans, the best peaceful celebrations, the best Zoo (Free), the best art museum (Free), the best entertainment and concert venues around the area all within 30 minutes.

EarthDance is offering their spring training again this year. I took the course a couple of years ago and it was really fun. I learned a lot. They are very knowledgeable so ask questions. (see page 6) I would recommend getting back to the soil to everyone. The best reward is sitting back and letting your garden grow and picking fresh vegetables.

I was fortunate to attend my grandsons high school wrestling match. Wow! Those boys can move! Shoutout to James: I’m proud of him as he won all four of his matches.

Hope everyone enjoys February. Have a Happy Valentines Day, remember to party responsibly on Mardi Gras, and enjoy yourself. Trout season is just around the corner.

Peace, Papa Deau

It’s a new year and I look forward to a fresh start. It seems every year I do the same thing: Think about what I failed at the past year and promise to work on doing better this year. And that’s where I stop. Yes, I promise to work on it but do I? Does everyone do this? I need to know.

In 2026 I will reach a milestone (75 trips around the sun). I can’t complain much, I am pretty healthy and other than my arthritis, I get around good, play golf, been doing Tai Chi work outs in the mornings, work around my house and yard like everyone else. I think of a Joe Walsh song lyric: “Life’s been good to me so far”. I had cataract surgery this past July and it is amazing to be able to see again. But this darn computer is not good for my eyes and wish someone would take over the editing.

As we begin this year, I look forward to venturing around the town to see how Ferguson is doing. I’ve seen some new businesses opening and some of the older established ones becoming staples of our community. Some advertise with us but a lot choose not to.

If you are a business owner in Ferguson I implore you to begin advertising with the Ferguson Neighborhood News. This paper is made available to all Ferguson residents free of charge. The ads you see in this paper are what is paying for that printing and distribution. In addition to mailing to each resident, we have paper stands in stores, our community centers, and city hall.

I know we normally do not discuss issues that are not positive, but some things need to be addressed if we want our community to continue to be proud. So I will try to be as gentle as possible.

For 2026, I pray that the building owners along Florissant Road clean up their storefronts to make them look as professional as possible. I think some are a disgrace. If you don’t believe me take a look at them yourself.

Does the city not have an ordinance concerning signage on storefronts. Am I the only one that thinks this?

Do the business owners not understand that a professional sign has an impact on their business? Your sign is your business signature. Unless you are working on a food truck, you should not have hand painted signs. Customers look at your sign and judge the quality of the product by the quality of your sign. Would you hand out a business card that looks that bad?

I didn’t mean to get off tangent. We live in a great community. And I want Ferguson to remain a vibrant community.

Well, those are my thoughts for 2026. Happy New Year Everyone!

– Papa Deau

We’ve had good news and bad news this year but despite everything we still move forward. I’m looking forward to closing out this year and ushering in a new year full of the good.

I know I always say that I am blessed, and I know that I sound like a broken record, but it is the only way I know to describe how I feel about my life this year. Just day to day living in the beautiful world the Lord has provided for us.

I really want to thank all that make our community a great place to live.

This year we have new businesses and others that continue to make Ferguson their home. The news that the brewery is closing and will be re-opened under Good News is “good news”.

There are a few people I want to make sure to thank that make this paper possible: Bob McGartland, Daniel Henderson, Mary Haux, Mike Noelker, and Phil Berwick keep me jumping through flaming hoops and pulling my hair out. But they also keep me honest and they are the best.

I want to make sure that our contributors are recognized for their continued dedication. We are blessed to have these folks that each month take the time to write articles that hopefully are of interest to you all. Thanks to Marion Linke, Kimberly Kabak Epperson, Dara Ashby, Raghib, Joan Cleaveland, Doug Neely, Teyuna Darris, Jess Coffin, Marsha Gebhart, Jerry Benner.

We, as a community, are truly “blessed”!

Merry Christmas – Papa Deau

Rodney Fickas

A lot of rumors are floating around concerning what is happening at the Ferguson Brewery. I hope we can dispel any wild rumors you have heard and try to let everyone know what is happening.

I sat down with Rodney Fickas the owner of soulcraft. He and his wife Julie are in the process of purchasing the Ferguson Brewing Company.

Rumor: The brew house is closing: True. The business name will be gone, but the building will be going through some renovations and re-branding to the Good News Brewing Company

Rumor: Everyone working at the Ferguson Brewing company will lose their jobs. False, Rodney assured me that he wants to keep the familiar faces. He is hopeful that the good people who have been working there will come work for him. However, those logistics still need to be worked out.

Rumor: Food options are going away. True/False, Rodney said he will be keeping some items but also adding wood fired pizza. He intends to have a full lunch and dinner menu. He is planning on installing the pizza oven out in the open where it becomes part of the experience going to the Good News Brewing Company.

Good News Brewing Company is an established brewery that started in Alton, Illinois. There are currently six locations around the area. Alton Il, St. Charles Mo, O’fallon, Mo, Defiance Mo, Wildwood Mo, and Augusta Mo. Rodney is hoping to bring a sense of community to this location and hopes to make this a destination for Ferguson residents as well as those who live elsewhere.

Personally, I was overjoyed when I heard the brewery would not be shuttering its doors. There will be a few months down time while renovations are made. Rodney explained that he still is working on the purchase of the building. If everything goes right, he will take ownership as the new year comes in. With all the work that needs to be done he is hoping to open sometime around the beginning of March.

Rodney is from Springfield Illinois and his wife Julie is from Waterloo. They are relatively new residents having moved here five years ago. He and his wife are visionaries and are hoping to help re-vitalize Ferguson. They already have SoulCraft for mentoring people on woodworking and I think we all agree that the Brewery is pretty much a staple here as it is a gathering place. And that is his vision: create a destination where people want to gather.

As Ferguson goes through this transition, I pray we will continue to support our local businesses.

Papa Deau

As editor, like most people, I rely on my phone and MacBook to keep me in contact with the world.

Everything was working fine until about two weeks ago when my emails abruptly stopped coming through. I tried logging on the server but to no avail. Oh ,what to do?

I had changed internet providers to cut costs. However, that meant my old email and my access to the server would be terminated.

I have used my old address for over 20 years. So this is a little more than an annoyance. It is how I get articles from our contributors, how my friends and family contact me. It is how I send files for perusal before sending to the printer. This was not good.

My phone is synced to my MacBook for emails/texts, but then nothing. As each day passed my frustration increased.

I apologize for mis-communication. Because of this, I have missed some emails which means I have missed some items that were to go into this paper. For that, I am truly sorry. NOT my bad, The term is “Sorry, it was my fault.”

Please use my new gmail account. garynadeau2@gmail.com.

I still need to figure out how to re-sync my gmail account to my phone. I can only check my email on my MacBook. I guess I’ll have to call the apple store and see if they can help me re-sync. Anyone out there have any expertise on this subject? I would appreciate any help I can get.

Enough about my whoas, no one wants to listen to a whiner and a complainer.

It has been so dry I have not had start my lawn mowers to cut my grass for almost a month. As I am piecing this issue together it has actually started to rain today. Looks like it is supposed to rain all week or a chance of rain so I guess my lawn will remain uncut until it drys out enough.

We need this rain as with the fall now upon us it is time for cool weather, football, and evening bonfires. I can’t wait.

I pray everyone continues to receive the emails they want or need, your phone stays charged, and you get to enjoy a nice evening bonfire.

Be good, stay safe, and spread the love God wants us to share.

Peace, Papa Deau

I want to give a big shout-out thank you to the Ferguson city residents that have graciously contributed to the Ferguson Neighborhood News. It is because of people like you that we can go to press each month. But more than that, it shows me that our community is very much alive and, from the comments I have read, this paper is serving a purpose. I promise that we will never divulge your names and addresses. Anyone that donates remains anonymous.

We strive to keep a positive spin on what is happening around the globe and if I fail to keep that positive vibe, please give me a swift kick. It is very easy to go negative in the world we live in. Especially with the instant feedback we get daily in the form of Facebook, twitter, nextdoor, instagram, you name the app and there are more negative comments than positive. I try to limit my comments as I scroll through the barrage of articles that are not so positive in nature.

I will admit that I finally got on Facebook. I had my daughter-in-law set me up so I can watch my grandsons hockey games when I cannot attend. To that end, I now have two friends: her and one of my fishing buddies.

I want to thank the volunteers from the Forestwood neighborhood association for their cleanup of the Forestwood area. Great job! Photos are on page 6.

I am happy to see the Garden Studio Cafe opened in June. It was formerly the Corner Coffee House. See the article on page 9.

As someone who dabbles in wood projects, I was pleased to hear about SoulCraft which opened it’s doors in 2021. See the article on page 15.

Ferguson is not just a city. It is a community. A community of wonderful caring people. Seek out these treasures of our community and let me know what you think.

Other than that, It’s just too hot to do anything but sit on a block of ice.

Papa Deau