ST. LOUIS 鈥 Sauce Magazine is now down to a skeleton crew after a series of cuts left the monthly food publication with half its original staffers.
After Friday, the 25-year-old magazine will employ only three full-time staffers, down from six when the paper was sold to Big Lou Holdings last year.
Owner Chris Keating did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
The Sauce cuts come five months after Keating sold the Riverfront Times alternative weekly to an undisclosed buyer in May.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure what鈥檚 going to happen,鈥 said Meera Nagarajan, Sauce鈥檚 executive editor until this July. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what future stories at Sauce are going to look like. I think it鈥檚 a sad thing to lose a publication like ours or to step away from the kinds of stories we were producing.鈥
People are also reading…
Sauce Magazine debuted in 1999, and was a quick hit among foodies and restaurant lovers here. It coincided with the rising popularity of food shows, celebrity chefs and gourmet cooking.
Now 狐狸视频 is down to one publication focused solely on food and drink coverage, Feast Magazine, which has also reduced its print schedule, last year, to quarterly.
At Sauce, only events coordinator Amy Hyde, digital editor Lauren Healey and business manager Rachel Hoppman will remain on full-time after Friday. Interim editor-in-chief Iain Shaw and long-time digital creative director Michelle Volansky were let go on Monday, with their last days at the end of the week.
Shaw declined to comment when reached by a reporter Wednesday. Volansky did not respond to requests for comment.
Sauce sustained additional losses earlier this summer when three staffers 鈥 including 鈥 either resigned or were let go. A salesperson was laid off last week.
Nagarajan said she stepped down after Keating said he planned to change Sauce鈥檚 direction.
Keating on Thursday that the recent layoffs were part of a shift to focus more on events. He said Sauce will rely on part-time staff and a 鈥渃onsortium of freelancers鈥 to carry the publication鈥檚 coverage.
Founder Allyson Mace sold Sauce to Keating after the publication went fully digital in March 2023. At the time, Keating vowed to bring Sauce鈥檚 print issues back and continue the magazine鈥檚 writing and events.
Sauce鈥檚 print issues did return in December. And the magazine鈥檚 staff didn鈥檛 have to change much of what they did before the sale, Nagarajan said.
But things changed after Keating sold the RFT, she said. Keating attempted to manage the publication more after RFT鈥檚 editorial leadership had been terminated, as was the rest of the weekly鈥檚 staff. Then, Sauce鈥檚 own staff was gradually chipped away.
鈥淓ventually, the brand has to meet the financial expectations of the owner,鈥 Nagarajan said. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 not doing that, then changes have to be made.鈥
Keating still owns three alternative weeklies in the Midwest, the Detroit Metro Times, Cincinnati CityBeat and the Louisville Eccentric Observer.
Mace said she sold Sauce to Keating because of his experience and the number of publications he owned. It 鈥渕ade sense鈥 he鈥檇 be able to carry on Sauce鈥檚 legacy, she said.
鈥淢y whole goal was to transition the magazine to better finances and deeper pockets,鈥 Mace said.
But many publications operate with skinny staffs, Mace said, as they navigate a changing industry.
鈥淚f I could do it again, I would probably think about this a little differently,鈥 Mace said. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 going to go down the tubes, give it back to me. I鈥檒l figure out how to fix it.鈥
Editor鈥檚 note: Monica Obradovic is a former employee of the Riverfront Times. Feast Magazine is a product of the Post-Dispatch.