ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING PIZZA COMPANIES IN AMERICA
NATIONAL CPG BUSINESS SURGES AND BRAND HEADS TO EXPO WEST
ST. LOUIS, March 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Katie’s Pizza & Pasta, the chef-driven Italian concept from James Beard–recognized restaurateur Katie Lee, has officially opened its fourth restaurant in Crestwood, Missouri, marking a major milestone for a brand that is simultaneously redefining both the restaurant experience and the premium frozen food aisle.
The new location arrives amid extraordinary national retail momentum for Katie’s CPG line, which is now carried in stores nationwide and expanding into thousands of additional doors in 2026. Next, the company heads to California where it will showcase its products at Natural Products Expo West (March 4–6, Anaheim Convention Center). The showcase comes as the company continues its nationwide retail partnerships in 2026 with new launches scheduled for spring and summer resets.
“My mission has always been to bring clean comfort food to everyone. Katie’s was built so that no matter where you are, you can sit down to something real, with clean ingredients, made with care. I’ve come a long way, and our team is always pushing to bring that to people everywhere, no matter the odds,” said Lee. “As a busy working mom, it’s hard to find convenient, real food – so we made it ourselves. This is real food for the soul handcrafted with the best ingredients. There’s nothing else like it and we’re proud to stand behind that.”
Together, the opening and the retail growth tell a single story: whether it’s served from a wood-fired oven in Crestwood or baked at home, Katie’s is still handmade, still chef-driven, and still the real thing.
A RESTAURANT ROOTED IN CRAFT, AND IN HISTORY
Built on the former Crestwood Mall site, the 400-seat restaurant is the brand’s first ground-up freestanding building and a rare example of architecture-forward suburban restaurant design in the St. Louis region.
Rather than defaulting to conventional retail construction, the project draws inspiration from the mid-century modern Ridgewood homes designed by Ralph and Mary Jane Fournier, bringing the progressive spirit of Crestwood’s 1950s suburban modernism back to the very kind of commercial site that once erased it.
The result is a structure organized like a modernist home with a kitchen at its heart, a light-filled dining room that reads like a living space, and natural materials and handcrafted details used throughout.
Custom walnut millwork by local craftsman Dave Stine, artwork by Katie Lee’s mother Belinda Lee, a dedicated pasta-making room, and a European-style open kitchen reinforce the same values that define the food: craft, transparency, and soul.
“This restaurant is a physical expression of everything we believe in: that food, design, and community are all connected,” said Lee. “The same care that goes into every hand-made pasta and every wood-fired pizza also went into the building itself.”
At a time when many suburban developments prioritize speed and uniformity, Katie’s Crestwood location offers an alternative model: a community-anchored, design-led, chef-driven destination. It is also a deeply personal milestone for Lee – a self-taught chef, single mother, and entrepreneur who built the company independently and has been named St. Louis Chef of the Year (six consecutive years), Best Pizza in St. Louis (ten consecutive years), and Best Pasta in St. Louis (seven consecutive years).
ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING PIZZA COMPANY IN THE UNITED STATES
While Crestwood represents Katie’s fourth restaurant, much of the company’s recent growth has taken place in retail, where its chef-made frozen products are outperforming legacy premium brands.
Katie’s retail business is scaling at a category-leading pace while maintaining the chef-driven standards that built its restaurant following. Now one of the fastest-growing pizza companies in the United States, the brand is responsible for 8.4% of all frozen pizza category growth in the natural channel and ranks among the top ten sales drivers in MULO, contributing 3.5% of total growth.
Its expansion extends well beyond pizza: the sauces, olive oil, and balsamic line has seen sales growth of 91%, a figure that significantly outpaces competitors. Couple that with an 8.8% increase in velocity, while its marinara has earned a 95% clean-label rating on the Yuka app. In frozen entrées and pasta bakes, Katie’s is up 82% across MULO and natural channels. The products are now stocked in thousands of stores nationwide, with agreements that will add thousands of additional doors in 2026.
Despite that rapid growth, the production process remains unchanged: every pizza is still hand-stretched from 48-hour naturally leavened dough, cooked in wood-fired ovens, and prepared by chefs rather than automated lines. “Restaurant credibility is our foundation,” said founder Katie Lee. “Retail didn’t change our standards — it gave us a way to bring them to more people.”
With four restaurants, national retail distribution, and continued product innovation ahead, Katie’s is creating a new blueprint for how chef-driven brands scale without sacrificing craft. From kitchen to cart, it’s the same philosophy: real ingredients, real techniques, real people.
ABOUT KATIE’S
Katie’s is a chef-driven Italian restaurant and consumer packaged goods brand based in St. Louis. Founded by Katie Lee, the company is built on handmade techniques, rigorously sourced ingredients, and a belief that food should nourish both body and soul. Its restaurants are known for wood-fired pizzas and house-made pastas, while its fast-growing national retail line brings the same standards to grocery stores across America. Katie’s is a WBENC-certified 100% woman-owned business. To learn more visit Katies.com and follow on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook to see the latest.
For Katie’s Pizza & Pasta press inquires contact Duncan Will and Nick Dierl at Orienteer –
duncan@orienteer.us | nick@orienteer.us
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SOURCE Katie’s
