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When Logan Ely announced plans for his second restaurant, the Lucky Accomplice, the timing was audacious. It was late March, mere days after dining rooms across the region had shuttered temporarily in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s a funny time to decide to build another restaurant,� he told the Post-Dispatch at the time.

Ely had already signed a lease for the new space and had begun construction, though. And he was optimistic that diners would return to restaurants once the pandemic had passed.

The Lucky Accomplice officially opens this week. The pandemic continues. Ely’s first restaurant, the acclaimed Shift (originally known as Savage), is now closed until further notice after operating for several months with a dramatically different, takeout-focused menu.

“There’s obvious worries, for sure,� Ely says about opening the Lucky Accomplice now. “But I’m excited. I’m really looking forward to it.�

Six months later, opening a new restaurant in the teeth of a pandemic might still seem audacious. Some prominent restaurants have already closed: Gamlin Whiskey House, Cusanelli’s, the Feasting Fox. The threat of cold weather looms over the many places relying on outdoor tables to make up for reduced dining-room capacity.

Yet Ely is not alone in opening now. Just since Aug. 1, at least 18 new restaurants have debuted. (And this does not even include the various ghost-kitchen concepts that established restaurants have launched.)

The mosaic is remarkable: a pizzeria spinoff from the beloved Olive + Oak; a coffee shop from two brothers from Honduras; both an independent restaurant featuring Korean chicken gangjeong and the first area location of a Korean fried chicken chain with locations around the world.

For Jason Lamont, the pandemic shaped the conception of his first restaurant, Love at First Bite. The St. Ann storefront was already set up to be a takeout-only restaurant.

“I could have took the wall back and made a sitting area for, maybe, what, four or five tables — you know, a small dine-in restaurant — but I was like, with this (pandemic) going on, it only makes sense for it to be carryout,� Lamont says.

Demetria Jackson says she was “nervous� to open a brick-and-mortar location of her delivery-based bakery SistaGirl Sweets during the pandemic.

Still, she says, “I just have a lot of faith. I didn’t listen to the people that had the negativity.�

One inspector straight-up told Jackson she had chosen the wrong time to open.

“I just use those type of words as fuel to the motivation for me to keep going,� she says.

Restaurant services and hours of operation are liable to change during the coronavirus pandemic. Please contact the restaurant directly for the latest information.

Maria Giamportone and Daniel Gonzalez are from Ecuador and Uruguay, respectively, and the married couple’s Maplewood restaurant draws on fare from those two and other South and Latin American countries.

Asador del Sur features seafood and beef. “I was raised to go to the ocean,� Giamportone says, while of her husband’s native Uruguay, she adds, “they eat beef for anything — you know, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

As highlights, Giamportone mentions tira de asado (Uruguayan-style beef short ribs) and carabineros a la plancha, large red prawns from Spain.

“You suck the juice from the head,� she says. “That’s my favorite.�

Where 7322 Manchester Road, Maplewood • More info 314-802-8587; • Menu Ecuadoran, Uruguayan and other South and Latin American fare • Current services Dine-in; patio dining; takeout; delivery • Hours 4-9 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, noon-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, noon-7 p.m. Sunday (closed Monday-Tuesday)

Phatcharin Wanna has transformed Kiin Essentially Thai, the downtown outpost of her acclaimed Delmar Loop restaurant Fork & Stix, into a new concept. At Aubergine Cafe, she says, the menu is Thai food “with a twist.�

As an example, Wanna says, in Thailand the dish Dancing Shrimp would be freshly caught live shrimp tossed in a bowl with seasoning and still jumping or dancing.

“But of course we cannot get that (here),� she says, “so I just use Argentinean red shrimp instead, and they’re soft-boiled and then tossed into the seasoning.�

Another highlight, Wanna says, is the Thai Bolognese with pork and tomato.

Where 550 North Seventh Street • More info 314-241-9990 • Menu Thai fare • Current services Dine-in; takeout • Hours Lunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon-3 p.m. Saturday, dinner 5-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (closed Sunday)

Balaban’s has returned to the Central West End — sort of. New owner Karen Halper plans to reopen the iconic restaurant, which under its previous owners had operated for several years in Chesterfield, across the street from its original location.

For now, Balaban’s chef Phil Stemmler is offering curbside pickup and, via the Central West End’s Streetery outdoor-dining program, limited patio dining using the kitchen of another of Halper’s businesses, Patty Long Catering.

Director of operations Ken Fowler points to the beef Wellington and eggplant roulade as menu highlights. That menu has been pared down, he says, “to focus on the classics.�

As for the new Balaban’s dining room, Fowler says right now, with construction delays from the coronavirus pandemic, it is two years from opening.

Where 412 North Euclid Avenue • More info 314-621-9598; • Menu Beef Wellington, cucumber bisque and more classic Balaban’s fare • Current services Takeout; patio dining • Hours Curbside pickup 3-7 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday (48 hours advance ordering required), patio dining 5-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday (reservations required) (closed Monday-Tuesday)

This is the first area location of BB.Q Chicken, a Korea-based chain of Korean fried-chicken restaurants. There are some 2,100 locations: 1,800 in Korea and 300 elsewhere around the world, including 48 in the United States.

Andrew Lee, strategy and operations manager for the company’s U.S. operations, says the place to start is the Secret Spicy Chicken, fried chicken tossed in a sauce of tomato, garlic, onion and spices.

Lee also recommends the Honey Garlic chicken and the Gangnam Style Wings in a black-pepper sauce. Among BB.Q Chicken’s non-chicken dishes are kimchi fried rice and ddeokbokki.

Where 1334 Central Park Drive, O’Fallon, Illinois • More info 618-589-9909; • Menu Korean-style fried chicken and more Korean fare • Current services Takeout; delivery • Hours 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday

Brothers Patrick and Spencer Clapp, who were born and raised in Honduras and started developing their love for coffee as teenagers, founded Coffeestamp as a microroastery in 2018. They have now opened a coffee bar in Fox Park.

Patrick Clapp says after starting slowly with roasting coffee and selling it at wholesale, online and at farmers markets, he and his brother knew “the next step was to be able to brew it and talk to people about the coffee.�

In addition to coffee, Coffeestamp’s new storefront features desserts, empanadas and a few sandwiches.

Where 2511 South Jefferson Avenue • More info 314-797-8113; • Menu Coffee bar with a light menu of empanadas, sandwiches and desserts • Current services Patio dining; takeout • Hours 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday

Bryan “Chef B� Scott’s food truck has established a brick-and-mortar home in a retail strip in Carondelet. The new restaurant features the truck’s signature duo of hot dogs and mac and cheese, each of which is available with various toppings.

The storefront’s expanded menu includes fried whole chicken wings, chicken strips, fried shrimp and the Dang! Burger. The overall approach at Doggie Mac’s, Scott says, is “all the flavors of the world, but with a soul-food emphasis.�

As of early September, the restaurant’s biggest seller was the Dang! Burger.

“It’s a half-pound, D-A-N-G, ‘Dang!’ burger,� Scott says.

Where 5622 South Grand Boulevard • More info 314-626-4221; • Menu Hot dogs, mac and cheese, burgers and more • Current services Takeout • Hours 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Saturday (closed Wednesday and Sunday; check social media for food truck availability)

Dogwood Social House in Ellisville is a restaurant, bar and entertainment venue, with arcade games, ax throwing and more. Though Dogwood Social House is new to the St. Louis area, this is its second location, following the original in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

The extensive food menu includes wings, pizza, burgers and sandwiches, steaks and seafood. Also expansive is the selection of beer, cocktails, shots and spirits.

Where 15682 Manchester Road, Ellisville • More info 636-323-4227; • Menu Pizza, burgers, sandwiches, wings and more • Current services Dine-in; takeout • Hours 11 a.m.-midnight Wednesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-1:30 a.m. Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-midnight Sunday (closed Monday-Tuesday)

This small Overland restaurant features the Korean dish chicken gangjeong, deep-fried pieces of boneless chicken in one of three sauces (teriyaki, the spicy Fire or the spicier, gochujang-based Red). Michelle Baik, who owns Fire Chicken with husband Sungmin, says their version of the dish is closer to the original flavor than what you might find in Korea now.

There, she says, “they are not adding salt or soy sauce that much and they are not adding the sugar that much.�

Fire Chicken also offers fried shrimp in the same sauces as the chicken. Ramen, rice bowls and mandu round out the menu.

Where 10200 Page Avenue, Overland • More info 314-551-2123 • Menu Chicken gangjeong and other Korean fare • Current services Takeout; delivery • Hours 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday (closed Sunday)

Hangar Kitchen + Bar now occupies the Rock Hill space vacated this year by the Slider House. The menu posted online ranges from sushi rolls (a Spicy Ahi Roll and Crab Rangoon Roll among them) to tacos (pork belly, short rib, tempura cod).

Other dishes include steak frites, carne-asada fries, and lobster mac and cheese. Reservations are recommended for dine-in service.

(Hangar’s owners did not respond to requests for comment.)

Where 9528 Manchester Road, Rock Hill • More info 314-473-1221; • Menu Eclectic contemporary fare • Current services Dine-in; patio dining; takeout • Hours 4-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 4-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 4-10 p.m. Sunday (closed Monday)

Juanita’s Creole Soul Cafe in Dutchtown is the first restaurant for chef Curtis McCann, who operated a catering company for the past two years. McCann says the inspiration for the Creole concept comes from his family, who are from the South, and his trips to New Orleans.

“I really love how New Orleans is really big on mom-and-pop restaurants — you know, those cozy little places with some really hearty foods,� he says.

Among Juanita’s signature dishes are the lobster roll, the creole curry chicken and the spicy Voodoo Pasta, which includes andouille sausage, chicken, crab and shrimp.

Where 3301 Meramec Street • More info 636-389-0738; • Menu Creole fare • Current services Patio dining; takeout; delivery • Hours 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday (closed Monday-Tuesday)

Lazy Tiger is a new cocktail bar from Travis Howard and Tim Wiggins, the team behind the Central West End restaurants Retreat Gastropub and Yellowbelly.

The bar showcases a relatively small number of bottles, with an emphasis on agave spirits (tequila, mezcal and raicilla), gin, rum and whiskey alongside fortified wines and amaro and other liqueurs.

“We don’t have anything that’s superfluous,� Wiggins says. “It’s very good-better-best (options) on how the spirits go.�

The cocktail menu is divided into seven categories: negronis, martinis, flips, clarified, highballs, sours and spirit-free. Beer, wine and a small food menu (fries, crab dip, grilled octopus toast) are also available.

Where 210 North Euclid Avenue • More info  • Menu Cocktail bar with a limited food menu • Current services Dine-in (reservations required) • Hours 5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (closed Sunday-Monday)

Love at First Bite is the first restaurant for chef Jason Lamont, who has worked at numerous restaurants over a three-decade career. The takeout-only menu ranges from barbecue and sandwiches to fried rice and vegan fare.

Lamont says menu highlights are the BBLT (a BLT sandwich with beef bacon) and the Spinning Chicken Fries (fries topped with smoked chicken, Provel and spinach-artichoke-jalapeño dip). Barbecue includes ribs, pulled pork, brisket and turkey smoked over pecan and hickory wood.

One of the vegan dishes is a vegan St. Paul sandwich, which Lamont says is “amazing.�

“You can’t get that anywhere (else) in St. Louis,� he says. “Not yet.�

Where 10479 St. Charles Rock Road, St. Ann • More info 314-695-5440; • Menu Barbecue, sandwiches, fried rice and more • Current services Takeout • Hours 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (closed Sunday-Monday)

The Lucky Accomplice is the second restaurant from Logan Ely, the chef-owner of the acclaimed Shift (formerly known as Savage) in Fox Park. The Lucky Accomplice, also located in Fox Park, is a more casual restaurant than Shift.

Here, Ely says, he is “trying to loosen up and just have fun with it� while still supporting local farmers and sustainable ingredients, as he has done at Shift. Dishes include a giant tater tot dressed as if it were an everything bagel and a single toasted raviolo “the size of your head.�

While the Lucky Accomplice has opened, Ely will keep Shift closed until further notice.

Where 2501 South Jefferson Avenue • More info 314-354-6100; • Menu Contemporary fare • Current services Patio dining • Hours 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday (closed Sunday-Tuesday)

Mack Hill was the bartender at West End Bistro, which his uncle and aunt Kevin and Marion Green opened in DeBaliviere Place in 2019. When the Greens relocated their restaurant this summer to a larger space in the same neighborhood, Hill converted its original location into Mack’s Bar & Grill.

“I wanted the bar,� Hill says. “We were already established here, I already had the lease going and everything else, and it didn’t make sense not to take a chance at my dream.�

Mack’s features a more casual menu than West End Bistro, with pizza, sandwiches and burgers. Other dishes include a lamb gyro, nachos, and shrimp and grits.

Where 5513 Pershing Avenue • More info 314-354-8436; • Menu Pizza, burgers and more casual fare • Current services Dine-in; takeout • Hours noon-10 p.m. Monday and Thursday-Sunday (closed Tuesday-Wednesday)

Lia Weber, a previous winner of TLC’s “Next Great Baker� competition, has opened a storefront in Old Town Florissant. Made. by Lia offers a variety of baked goods — pastries, muffins, scones and cakes among them — as well as vegan and gluten-free options. Coffee and espresso drinks are also available.

Made. by Lia opened in August with the help of a Kickstarter campaign that aimed for $15,000 but ended up raising $25,000.

In general, Weber says, the response “has been amazing. We’ve had lines down the street.�

Where 610 Rue St. Francis, Florissant • More info 314-551-2383; • Menu Baked goods • Current services Patio dining; takeout • Hours 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (closed Sunday-Monday)

The new restaurant from the team behind Webster Groves blockbuster Olive + Oak and its sibling the Clover and the Bee takes over the space Olive + Oak vacated this summer for its new home nearby.

O+O Pizza features thin-crust pies inspired by New Haven, Roman and tavern-style pizzas. Co-owner Mark Hinkle says the overall approach is the same as at Olive + Oak and the Clover and the Bee: using “the best ingredients we can find.�

Chef Mike Risk also continues the Italian cooking he was showcasing at Clover and the Bee, with a selection of pastas, eggplant Parmesan and veal saltimbocca.

Where 102 West Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves • More info 314-942-1216; • Menu Pizza, pasta and more Italian fare • Current services Patio dining; takeout • Hours 5-9 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 5-9 p.m. Sunday (closed Monday-Tuesday)

Pocha is a “Korean-American family-owned restaurant and pub� in St. Ann, according its website. (Pocha’s owner could not be reached in time for publication.)

“Pocha STL is a comfy and easy place for you to relax and eat,� the website states.

According to the posted menu, Pocha’s fare includes kimbap, rice bowls, stews (kimchi, chicken, Army stew) and bibimbap.

Where 10678 St. Charles Rock Road, St. Ann • More info 314-429-4255; • Menu Korean fare • Current services Dine-in; takeout • Hours Call for current hours

Demetria Jackson has opened a storefront in downtown west for her bakery, which she launched as a delivery service in 2014. SistaGirl Sweets had become so busy, she says, that “I needed to broaden my horizons and take the leap of faith and get a storefront.�

Jackson says SistaGirl Sweets’ specialties are cheesecake and dessert jars, grab-and-go desserts packaged inside mason jars.

The brick-and-mortar location also features a new savory menu. The selection of soul-food fare includes fried chicken, meatloaf and smoked turkey legs as well as a vegetarian Cajun pasta and a vegan burger.

“I feel like you still should be able to eat good as a vegetarian,� Jackson says.

Where 1828 Washington Avenue • More info 314-571-9181; • Menu Desserts and soul food • Current services Dine-in; takeout; delivery • Hours noon-8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday (closed Monday)