Alex & Jeff Henry - El Molino Del Sureste

“The Sauce” with Jeff & Alex Henry – Bringing Yucatán Cuisine to St. Louis Through El Molino del Sureste

On this episode of The Sauce Podcast, host Lauren sits down with brothers Jeff and Alex Henry — the owners of El Molino del Sureste and Taqueria del Sureste — to talk about their journey from growing up between Missouri and Mexico to building one of St. Louis’ most exciting and celebrated regional Mexican restaurant concepts.

The brothers share how their upbringing in Mérida, Yucatán shaped their connection to food, family, and hospitality, and how summers spent cooking with their grandparents inspired Alex’s path into the culinary world. They dive into the evolution from opening inside City Foundry STL to launching their standalone South City restaurant, where they’ve been able to fully showcase the depth and creativity of Yucatán-inspired cuisine.

They also break down some of their standout dishes — from handmade masa creations and smoked sweet potatoes to traditional candied squash desserts — while explaining the techniques, ingredients, and philosophy behind their fully scratch-made kitchen. The conversation touches on seasonal menus, farm sourcing, house-grown herbs, and how their James Beard semifinalist recognition helped transform the trajectory of the business.

Beyond the food, the episode explores the importance of family, cultural identity, mentorship, and staying deeply connected to both St. Louis and Mexico while building something truly personal.

From Yucatán traditions to modern technique, from masa to mezcal cocktails — this episode is all about honoring heritage through food.

In this episode:

• Growing up between St. Louis and Mérida, Yucatán
• Family traditions and learning to cook from their grandmother
• Alex Henry’s path into the culinary world
• Opening at City Foundry STL during uncertain post-pandemic times
• Expanding into El Molino del Sureste in South City
• Regional Mexican cuisine and Yucatán influences
• Scratch cooking and farm-to-table sourcing
• Handmade masa dishes and smoked sweet potato preparations
• Traditional Mexican candying techniques and seasonal desserts
• The evolving cocktail program and bringing on beverage manager Ben Bauer
• Gardening, specialty herbs, and growing ingredients onsite
• Becoming James Beard semifinalists and the impact on the restaurant
• Favorite St. Louis restaurants and exploring the city
• What’s next for the future of the Sureste restaurants

Come for the conversation. Stay for the culture. 🌿

 ✨ Presented by SWADE Dispensary, with 12 locations across Missouri. Learn more at swadecannabis.com. Our other podcast sponsors are 4 Hands Brewing Co. and LHM.

🎧 Watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify and all major platforms.
 📅 New episodes drop every Tuesday.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Now, can we talk about this James Beard, uh semifinalist nod? How was that?

SPEAKER_01 0:05

It's very exciting. I can tell you that, you know, our business has uh increased dramatically since then. Um, you know, it it it's gone from where before, you know, we were definitely struggling to now where now we're, you know, seeing some progress.

SPEAKER_02 0:18

I would definitely recommend reservations these days, especially on the weekends. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Suede Dispensary, now with 12 locations across Missouri, is taking convenience to a whole new level. The cannabis brand just opened its first ever 24-hour drive-through storefront in Overland, meaning you can order online and pick up anytime, day or night. Whether you're planning ahead or making a late night run, Suede is ready when you are with quick pickup, expanded delivery, and a seamless experience. Hello, welcome to the Sauce Podcast. I'm your host, Lauren, and I am here with our May cover stars. I've got Jeff and Alex Henry. They are the owners of El Molino del Cereste in South City as well as Taceria del Cereste in City Foundry SDL. And can you guys just uh fill in our listeners on your concepts?

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Yeah, so uh the focus uh originally we opened Tacerilla del Sureste, it was just Sureste Mexican in the foundry. Um, you know, it was just kind of to get my foot in the door with the ownership of uh of a restaurant, you know, and and really it is uh regional Mexican cuisine with a focus on Yucatán, uh Mexico specifically. Um El Molino uh is more of a sit-down restaurant and uh kind of plays the same role as uh, you know, showcasing food from Yucatán, as well as also kind of showcasing, you know, some creative uh uses of Mexican technique using local uh kind of farm to table sourced ingredients from the region.

SPEAKER_00 1:49

I love it. Well, the first time I went in, as you know, I was just blown away, which is what led to our feature in the May issue. So um I know that you guys have a really interesting background with your family in Mexico, so uh fill us in on that.

SPEAKER_02 2:04

Uh yeah, so um, you know, we kind of had a foot in two worlds growing up. Our father was a native of the St. Louis area uh who moved to Mexico to Medida, the capital of Yucatán in the 80s. Um so we were born in in Mérida, uh, spent a good chunk of our early childhood there. And um, you know, we actually lived right next door to our grandparents. So uh our grandmother was a wonderful cook and really exposed us to a lot uh from a very young age. Um but even after moving here to the States as children, we uh, you know, we still split time. You know, our mother was very homesick, so we would go back to to Medida every summer, pretty much spending our entire summer vacation with our grandparents. And then um, you know, it's Christmases we would rotate between, you know, spending them here with our American grandparents and down in in Medida with our Mexican abuelitos, you know.

SPEAKER_00 2:55

That's so fun. So at like what age were you when you knew that food was just gonna be part of your life forever?

SPEAKER_01 3:02

I mean, probably, you know, around the time I was finishing high school, around the time most people kind of decide what their career is gonna be, you know, that that kind of just seemed like like the path. I really liked at that point to eat food a lot.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

You know, I like to play around in the kitchen. I wouldn't say I was any good at it yet, but uh, you know, it kind of drew my attention and I I just kind of followed that path forward.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Well, you must have always had a knack for it.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

I mean, once I started to learn, I got a little better at it. Yeah, you know. No no one necessarily starts just just good at something, I don't think. Sure.

SPEAKER_02 3:33

I mean, as as an outside observer, I can I can say that probably around age 15 or 16 was when he first started talking about becoming a chef. So, you know, it's very rare for people uh to figure out what they want out of life that young and to actually take the steps to make it happen. So props to him. Me, I I kind of fell into this, you know. I studied political science, but you know, this particular uh thing that we're doing is so personal. Um, and you know, it means so much to us that you know it's something that I've I've really embraced and come to enjoy. And I couldn't uh couldn't imagine doing any anything else at this point.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Well, and you're really an important part of this too, you know. I think that you know, my first introduction at the restaurant was talking to you, and you explained everything, you know, that your brother's doing to me. So I think it's really cool to see it as a family business. Now, who's older?

SPEAKER_02 4:22

Jeff's older.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

That's me. By how much?

SPEAKER_02 4:24

Uh two and a half years.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

Okay. So you guys were pretty close growing up. We were. Okay. Now, was there a point growing up when you knew that like he was gonna be a rock star chef?

SPEAKER_02 4:35

Honestly, probably I would say around the time I was graduating from college, Alex was already, you know, working his way up the ranks. You know, he'd already been uh Sioux chef at Yaya's uh under his mentor Rob Yamura. And you know, shortly after that, he started working for Gerard Craft at uh I don't know, was it Brasserie or Taste First? Brasserie. Um, so yeah, I mean his trajectory was you know on on the up and up pretty quickly. So I would say, you know, it was pretty, pretty, y pretty young that I realized that you know he was for real.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

And did you know at that point? Like, did you know you were good at it?

SPEAKER_01 5:12

I was just putt putting my head down doing doing the work I needed to do. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

Was there a certain moment where you were like, I'm pretty good at this?

SPEAKER_01 5:21

I mean, I don't really like to think myself up that way too much. I don't think it really helps. Okay. But uh it was always we always knew.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

I'm just it's okay. It's okay to be sure of yourself.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Yeah, right, right.

SPEAKER_00 5:33

Okay. Now, okay, so I know you guys started over at City Foundry STL. So kind of walk us through the progression of like how you knew you were ready to open there, and then what led you to opening your standalone restaurant.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Well, you know, I was kind of looking for originally to open a standalone uh restaurant, but you know, the timing of it, it was I guess we thought post-pandemic, but not quite yet at the time. It was kind of weird times, uh, you know, and uh the uh the foundry seemed like a little bit lower risk uh bet to get going. Definitely, you know, and and probably was the right decision considering that you know there's weird times there after the pandemic economically to try to navigate.

SPEAKER_00 6:13

So our podcast sponsor is Forehands Brewing Company, which is celebrating 10 years of citywide here in St. Louis. The 10th anniversary celebration will feature collaborations with fellow iconic St. Louis companies, including Sauce on the Side, High Point Drive-in, Sugar Fire Smokehouse, Gus's Pretzel Shop, Fitz's Root Beer, Blue City Deli, STL Toasted, Strange Donuts, Peacemaker, Lobster and Crab Company, Clementine's Ice Cream, Strange Donuts, and more. And then so, um, how did you know you were ready to move on to the second restaurant?

SPEAKER_01 6:47

Uh we basically kind of outgrew it. There wasn't really enough space to keep doing what I was trying to do.

SPEAKER_02 6:53

Yeah, I mean, to be perfectly honest, you know, since opening, uh, probably the the menu and concept at Taquería de Sureza in the Foundry has become a little more streamlined and a little with a little broader appeal because um early on, Alex was trying some things that were a little more ambitious, maybe, than was appropriate for the foundry. You know, we were he was serving octopus, you know, uh pork belly entrees, you know, things that uh people would see on the menu as uh walking by. Uh they might make a weird face and then go buy a burger instead, you know.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

Yeah, the City Foundry is like, you know, not quite the sort of upscale clientele I'm sure you're getting over at the freestanding restaurant. Okay. Now let's talk about your technique because I think it's just incredible what you're doing. And when I learned about all of what goes into each individual dish, I mean, my mind was kind of blown. Can we talk about um the my favorite dish? Although I don't know if it's still on the menu. What is it? The tacloyo? Tell us about that.

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Uh so like traditionally a tacoyo would be not from Yucatan, from central Mexico. It's kind of like an oval-shaped uh, you know, masa cake, for lack of a better word. Uh and typically, you know, it's gonna have a filling in it. Traditionally, it would have like maybe uh beans. I think ayucota beans are one of the more traditional fillings, um, you know, or a ground meat or something, and then just a sauce on top. So we kind of switched it up. We decided to do um uh a sweet potato dish I wanted to do, and you know, I kind of wanted to pair it with uh some goat cheese because I like that combination. So I decided to fill this tlacoyo with uh goat cheese and lots of garlic chives because I just really like the flavor of them with pepitas um and pepita in there. And then we took some sweet potatoes and uh, you know, we first I lightly pickled them, then we smoke them for quite some time, and then we just before we serve them, we sear them on the grill, you know, and just really treat it kind of like with the kind of respect you would have mean. Um and then, you know, just really to tie it all together is salsa macha, which is, you know, the it's it's one of those sauces that goes good on everything. It's it's got all the all the flavors, you know. It's a little spicy, it's a little nutty, it's super savory, it's sweet from honey in it, and it's herbal, so it really just kind of ties everything together.

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Well, I dream of that dish. It's so good. Uh I know it's a seasonal dish, like everything on your menu, is it still there now? Is it coming up? At the moment it is. It is. Okay. I might I might have to stop back by.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

There we go.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Okay. Um, and now uh let's talk about that um squash dessert. What is that called?

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Oh, dulce de calabaza.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

So good.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Yeah. So um in Yucatan, you'd find uh that version more commonly done with papaya down there, actually, but squash is also common in different places. But the technique of uh nixtamalizing fruits or vegetables, um, which is the process of uh steeping them in an alkaline solution, typically uh alkalinized with uh slake lime, although sometimes wood ash is used. Um and what that does is it changes like the actual uh structure of the vegetable and kind of slows the breakdown of the pectin so that you can cook it longer in sugar without it falling apart. So then we cook it in sugar and candy it. And you know, some people take it to different uh lengths. We do it to where it's still, you know, soft. I would say almost kind of like a fudgy type texture. Um but you can actually take that further to where it's like hard candy, like completely crystallized to you. But it's very traditional uh um method for for candying uh fruits and vegetables throughout Mexico, and you know, squash is just seem like the appropriate choice for the season here.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

I love a healthy dessert. They're few and far between here in America. Is that one still available?

SPEAKER_01 10:31

That one is not. Shoot. Okay, asking for myself. No. That'll be back in fall.

SPEAKER_00 10:36

Okay, that's good. I'm glad you're cycling it back in because you know, a lot of our readers are gonna need to try it.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

Oh, yeah. And you know, things will come back with you know some slight, slight differences every time.

SPEAKER_02 10:46

Sure. I mean, there's an asterisk attached to that because you know, plans change, you know. Yeah.

unknown 10:53

Right.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

Uh having having you know worked alongside him now for almost five years, you know, he you know, we can shoot to bring something back or make a specific change, but you know, according to availability or just some new moment of inspiration, things may change entirely. So sure. There might be something I like better to take that spot.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

Who knows?

SPEAKER_00 11:13

And that's understandable. And I think, you know, what's so great about your food that I've tried, which is quite a lot of it now, is it's sort of just a testament to like it really doesn't matter what you do, it's gonna be amazing. So I think everybody needs to go try it.

SPEAKER_01 11:27

Thank you. Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Now I heard that you have a new beverage manager.

SPEAKER_02 11:31

Uh yeah, so we uh recently brought on board uh Ben Bauer. Uh so Ben, on top of being a great guy, um, who's really melded well with the existing team, um really bringing some unique uh ideas. You know, prior to this, I was doing the beverage program. And my my background, uh not nearly as glowing as Ben. You know, he's worked, uh he's managed the bar program at two Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City, as well as uh uh he was the bar manager at uh uh Mizon Premiere, which is one of the top 50 bars in North America. Um, so he's bringing a whole wealth of knowledge and experience. And he's only just beginning to, you know, put some of his own creations because you know, he likes to take time with his process, make sure that you know everything's right before he starts adding uh his own creations to the menu. But yeah, he's he intends to take a little bit more of a modernist approach, um, you know, incorporating some more um gastronomic elements into the cocktails as well. So I'm I'm very excited. You know, I've seen the prospectus, some of the um things that he's working on, and I think there's some really exciting changes coming on that side of things too.

SPEAKER_00 12:47

Cool. Now, so you said you made all of the cocktails that I tried before?

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Uh for the most part, there are uh there are a couple that were uh that were come up with by bartenders that we had previously, but I would say about yeah, if we had 14 on the menu, I think 11 of them were were things that I could.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

Nice. I thought they were really good and well balanced.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

And I'm a cocktail connoisseur, so um, I'm excited to come try out Ben's stuff. And now was he at Prohibition before?

SPEAKER_02 13:13

Yeah, he uh he was uh more recently at Prohibition, and then prior to moving to New York, he was the bar manager at um the Libertine for a number of years.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Oh, nice. Okay, and um when can we expect to see uh more of his stuff popping up on the menu?

SPEAKER_02 13:28

Um, I would say if not this weekend, maybe next week we'll start to see a couple of his drinks enter the menu and and we'll cycle out some of the older ones. But um yeah, I would say over the course of the next six to eight weeks, you know, we'll see a big change in in the uh beverage program. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:47

Okay, awesome. Okay. Now I know that you don't get anything pre-prepared. Everything is fully from scratch. So tell us about that ethos.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Well, I mean, that's that's the way that I I saw my Abuita growing up uh cooking when I was growing up as a kid. Um, you know, and um, you know, going way back to the one of the first nicer restaurants I worked in, working with uh a chef Rob Rob Wemra, you know, he was always very big on the scratch cooking also. And you know, just kind of throughout my career I've noticed that you know every time scratch cooking always creates better results.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

It's certainly does.

SPEAKER_01 14:22

You know, so I just never really felt the need to use pre-processed stuff.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

Well, that's great. We love it here at SOFS. Now, I know you're doing a bit of gardening over there in the basement. Tell us about that.

SPEAKER_02 14:36

Well, it's not been transferred outdoors now that the climate allows. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

But yeah, well, I mean, there's a lot of there's a couple plants, you know, that we like to grow because you just can't source them here. Um there's uh if anyone's listening and wants to create a specialty uh herb company, I will gladly buy them from you as well. But you know, there's uh a lot of Mexican uh uh herbs and such. Uh we grow chaya, which is very big in Yucatán. Um, you know, we we grow different types of amaranths throughout, um, you know, and then out front, you know, kind of for show as well. We grow a small little uh uh milpa, if you will, which is the traditional three sisters garden with corn and beans and squash. And that's a little bit more decorative, but you know, hopefully we get um from the corn at least. Um we hopefully inoculate that with some we la coche spores and get some of that as well to be able to use. Uh but you know, also it just kind of helps to, you know, keep in tune with the season, having it right there in front of you all the time.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

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SPEAKER_01 16:08

That that has definitely helped business quite a bit. Um, so you know thrilled that it happened.

SPEAKER_00 16:14

Like, how what was it like?

SPEAKER_01 16:17

It's very exciting. I can tell you that, you know, our business has uh increased dramatically since then. Um, you know, it it's gone from where before, you know, we were definitely struggling to know where now we're you know seeing some progress.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

I would definitely recommend reservations these days, especially on the weekends. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

That's so awesome.

SPEAKER_02 16:35

Whereas before, uh, you know, it was rare that you could you couldn't get a spot walking in, even often on the weekends. Um nowadays definitely would recommend a reservation on the weekends. That you know, at times they're getting booked out a week in advance. So and then during the weekdays, um, I would say your best bet is Wednesday, but uh even Tuesdays and Thursdays have been, you know, considerably busier. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

I'm really glad to hear that. Now, how often do you guys get back to Mexico?

SPEAKER_01 17:06

Uh I went last year. See if I could get a chance to go this year. I would ideally like to go every year, but it's been closer, like every two or three years lately.

SPEAKER_00 17:14

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 17:14

It's been it's been a few years for me. You know, I've been uh you know, a little uh busy with uh the restaurant and uh you know the finances haven't quite been there, but uh it's it's been about four years for me.

SPEAKER_00 17:29

Okay. Do you still have family down there?

SPEAKER_02 17:31

Oh yeah. Okay, yeah, our our entire mom side of the family is down there. Our grandparents have since passed away, but all of our aunts, uncles, cousins, now their children as well. Um, they're all down there. Um so so yeah, we we like to make it out there. Even so, we you know, we keep in touch. Uh, you know, we have our WhatsApp family group chat. So, you know, we get the uh Daily Saints prayer from all of our aunts and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 17:58

That's cute. Yeah. Okay. And did any of them come up here and visit?

unknown 18:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 18:03

From time to time. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 18:04

Have they been to the restaurant?

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Not yet, not since it opened.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

So are you to think to the foundry? Okay.

SPEAKER_01 18:12

Well, no, I guess uh one of my cousins, Michelle, has been to the restaurant. Oh, that's true. Yeah, she was here last year. I forgot.

SPEAKER_00 18:17

That's fun. And are they all big cooks too?

SPEAKER_01 18:21

Not not everyone, but a lot a lot of them like to cook, you know. It's cooking's very common down there.

SPEAKER_00 18:25

That's fun. It's kind of just part of who you are.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

Okay. And what do you guys like to do around town when you're not working?

SPEAKER_01 18:32

Yeah, I mean, I definitely like to eat. I like to I am a big outdoor guy. I like to just spend my time out outside, get some sunshine, you know, go out in the woods, explore.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Are you a hiker?

SPEAKER_01 18:44

Hiker, biker, kayak, whatever. You know, just as long as I can be out in the sunshine.

SPEAKER_00 18:48

I like sunshine as well.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

We haven't had much this week.

SPEAKER_02 18:52

Not this week, hopefully.

SPEAKER_00 18:55

What about you?

SPEAKER_02 18:56

Um, well, you know, when I do get out, which isn't as often as I would like, you know, I like to try new restaurants, um, you know, take the dog for walks with uh my fiancee. Um, you know, just just simple things. You know, there's not a a ton of free time. So, you know, um just always trying to explore little bits of the city that are a little less familiar, as well as enjoying, you know, Forest Park and you know, Tower Grove, you know, the more well-known attractions, botanical gardens, you know, and all the things that that are unique to St. Louis.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

Yeah, I feel like we've got it really lucky here.

SPEAKER_02 19:34

Absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:35

Now, what are some of your favorite restaurants around town?

SPEAKER_01 19:39

Oh, I'm a big fan of Little Fox, not not too far away. Super tasty.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

Um they're in this issue too. Did you see?

SPEAKER_01 19:46

I did.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 19:47

Uh Damn Fine Hampies is damn fine. Yes, yes, they are. Give them that one. Uh, you know, this is, I mean, I could go on and on. Um definitely.

SPEAKER_02 19:57

Um, well, kind of more more closer to us, you know, in that in that part of town. Um, big fan of hatched for breakfast.

SPEAKER_00 20:05

I have not been there. It is, it's really good.

SPEAKER_02 20:07

Um, you know, Josh Sturma and uh, you know, one of the co-owners, uh, he's he's actually uh gluten-free, so he comes in quite a bit. Um and I love what they're doing. They're very tasty breakfast. Um I I enjoy Majid Mediterranean. Um so they are uh a Syrian restaurant.

SPEAKER_00 20:26

Yeah. Um and where is it?

SPEAKER_02 20:28

Um so it's on Gravoy. Um shoot, it's like near the uh oh gosh, the silver ball room where tiny uh shop is. It's near Bivo, all that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 20:43

So she was another cover star a few months ago. Okay, well, cool guys. Well, what's on the horizon for you and your team?

SPEAKER_01 20:52

Well, you know, for for one, just getting getting used to being busier is always you know something to to tackle. Um, you know, and then obviously we're coming into uh the warmer seasons where there should be a lot more exciting produce and stuff to to work with to kind of get the the creativity flowing.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

Fun.

SPEAKER_02 21:10

Definitely. Yeah, I mean um there's little little uncertainty economically, but I mean down the road, you know, maybe you know, expanding beyond the city too.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

Really? Okay, well that would be super cool. Yeah, well, we're wishing well for you all.

SPEAKER_02 21:28

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 21:29

Okay, well, do you guys want to add anything else?

SPEAKER_02 21:32

No, I think that's good.

SPEAKER_00 21:33

Okay, thanks for stopping by.

SPEAKER_02 21:34

Our pleasure. Thank you.