Usually, the biggest restaurant news in the month comes from a spot that has opened or closed. Or one that’s just announced — say, Taco Buddha heading to Botanical Heights.

But the tornado that tore through St. Louis on May 16 changed the calculus on what’s the big news. The storms that damaged so many homes and other buildings in central and north St. Louis also hit many restaurants: the Delmar Maker District eateries Beyond Sweet Kitchen + Bar, Too Much Sauce , Ben Poremba’s Esca, Olio and Florentin, and HuSTL’s Steve’s Hot Dogs and the Fountain on Delmar.

“The damage there was a lot of broken glass,” said HuSTL CEO Danni Eickenhorst. “Our gas lines were ripped out, our HVAC units were damaged, our walk-in freezer compressor was fried out. The doors of our locations blew open.

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