Since August, Chesterfield has gained a gelato and Italian pastry counter and a made-to-order ice cream shop, with a donut shop and a cookie counter on the way. The menus get most of the attention. The hours matter more, because each shop covers a different part of the day. A Tuesday at 8 p.m. narrows the list to one place. A Saturday at 2 p.m. leaves you a real choice.
This guide lays out that schedule using what the shops and local food press have published as of early October 2026.
The Afternoon Belongs to Dolce Napoli
Dolce Napoli opened September 2 at 17089 N. Outer 40 Road in The District. It sits a short walk from Napoli Bros. Pizza and Pasta. The shop sells gelato, Italian pastries and sandwiches on house-made bread.
The hours set it apart from everything else on this list. Dolce Napoli's location page lists Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the shop is closed Monday and Tuesday. That makes it a lunch stop, an after-school stop or a weekend-afternoon stop. It doesn't work for dessert after dinner.
The short hours make more sense once you know what else happens in the building. According to St. Louis Magazine's opening coverage, the space also serves as the commissary kitchen for the Napoli Group's six restaurants around the metro, including the Napoli location in Town & Country. Pastry chef Meaghan Coltrain runs the program. She joined the group in early December after working as executive pastry chef for Gerard Craft's Niche Food Group, the Missouri Athletic Club and Bellerive Country Club. The same kitchen is producing a new signature bread for each Napoli restaurant and is rebuilding the group's dessert program. So a cannoli you order at a Napoli dining room may now come from this kitchen on North Outer 40.
The menu runs to about 13 gelato flavors, including pistachio and cherry, plus kid-friendly options with sprinkles. Weekends add pastry specials such as sfogliatella, the layered Neapolitan shell filled with ricotta. The coffee side includes flavors like date sauce, brown butter and lavender. The sfogliatella is a weekend special, and the shop is closed early in the week, so Saturday and Sunday afternoons are when the full pastry case is available.
After 6 p.m., It's Marble Slab
The evening shift goes to Marble Slab Creamery at 128 Hilltown Village Center, which opened August 20. According to Sauce Magazine, it is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. That adds up to 79 hours a week, compared with Dolce Napoli's 35. Marble Slab is also open on the two days Dolce Napoli is closed.
The shop's history runs deeper than a new franchise opening suggests. Owner Aasia Langrial's parents once owned the Marble Slab at West County Mall, and she worked there in high school and early college. Later, she and her husband decided to bring the brand back. She told Sauce they had lived in Chesterfield for years and saw a need for a premium ice cream shop nearby. They proposed the site to the franchise team themselves. For now, it is the only Marble Slab in the St. Louis area.
The format is ice cream mixed to order on a frozen marble slab, with fruits, nuts, candies and cookies added at no extra charge. The shop also serves hand-rolled waffle cones, milkshakes, smoothies and ice cream cakes. Langrial told Sauce the shop gets steady repeat business from Chesterfield customers, and some people drive 45 minutes to an hour to visit. Orders also come in through DoorDash and EZCater, and the owners are working on catering for birthdays, weddings and office events.
The cake policy is useful to know ahead of a family birthday. Ready-to-go cakes are available for last-minute needs, and custom cakes need 24 to 48 hours' notice.
The Week at a Glance
Here are the posted hours for both open shops, side by side.
| Day | Dolce Napoli, 17089 N. Outer 40 Rd. | Marble Slab Creamery, 128 Hilltown Village Center |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Closed | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Thursday | 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Friday | 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Saturday | 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekend pastry specials | 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. |
| Sunday | 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekend pastry specials | 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. |
Both shops are open from Wednesday through Sunday between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. That leaves five overlapping afternoons a week, and those are the only times you can choose between gelato and slab-mixed ice cream on the same outing. Outside those windows, the clock makes the choice for you.
Mornings Are the Missing Piece, and Elby Donuts Is Lined Up for Them
Neither shop opens before 11 a.m., so a new sweet stop for the morning has to come from somewhere else. The likeliest candidate is Elby Donuts. St. Louis Magazine's early-October openings roundup lists a third Elby location at 14870 Clayton for fall. The same roundup shows Elby's Olive location opening on September 11, so the company is opening new shops quickly right now.
Elby Donuts describes itself as veteran-owned and family-run. It calls its shop 100% nut-free, which matters to any household managing a nut allergy. The online menu lists sprinkle donuts, long johns, assorted cakes and apple fritters. The Clayton Road shop was still listed as coming soon as of the roundup's early-October press date. No opening date or hours had been published, so treat it as announced, not open.
The Rest of the Pipeline
Several more Chesterfield additions were listed as announced, not open, as of the October 5 St. Louis Magazine roundup and Sauce's September coverage.
- Great American Cookies, to be added inside the Marble Slab storefront at Hilltown Village Center before winter. Langrial also told Sauce the shop plans weekly featured ice cream flavors as a local touch.
- bb.q Chicken at 1627 Clarkson, listed for October as the brand's second metro location.
- Yummy Bowl Mongolian Stir Fry & Sushi at 17308 Chesterfield Airport Road, in the former Red Robin space, listed for late 2026.
The cookie counter matters most for the schedule. Because it will run inside a shop that already stays open until 10 or 11 p.m., Hilltown Village Center is set to become the only spot on this list serving both ice cream and fresh cookies late at night.
Dinner First, Then Dessert
If dessert comes after a meal out, the time you finish eating decides where you go next. One of the summer's new savory spots fits that pattern well. Hanjo's Smashed Burgers opened July 4 at 41 Forum Shopping Center. STL.News reports that the owners leased the space in October 2025 and spent about nine months on renovation and menu development before opening. St. Louis Public Radio included it among the metro's July 2026 openings.
Here's how the schedule plays out:
- Weekend lunch: Dolce Napoli works as both stops, with a sandwich on house-made bread followed by gelato or a weekend pastry, all before the 6 p.m. close.
- Weeknight dinner out: after about 6 p.m., Marble Slab is the only one of the two open, and it serves until 10 p.m. on weekdays.
- Monday or Tuesday at any hour: Marble Slab is the only one of the two open.
- Saturday late: Marble Slab, open until 11 p.m.
- Early morning: neither open shop serves this window yet, and Elby's Clayton Road location is the one slated to fill it.
Chesterfield's dessert options grew this year, and each new shop covers different hours. Gelato and pastry fill the afternoons, Marble Slab handles weeknights and late weekends, and the donut shop that would cover mornings is still listed as coming soon.
Our team keeps track of openings like these because they shape what daily life looks like in Chesterfield. If you're weighing how a new shop, a new tenant or a changing shopping center affects your corner of the city, Jeff Lottmann and the team would be glad to talk it through. Schedule a market consultation and we'll go over what's opening near you.
