According to Sauce Magazine, Busch's Grove will be closing in approx 30 days. Wow, another local institution closing. While I was never overly impressed with the food, the build out was something else.
Busch's Grove Closed- Will be The Market at Busch's Grove
Busch's Grove Closed- Will be The Market at Busch's Grove
Wow... thats huge. What a waste of $13M (or whatever it cost, thats just what I heard). It seems to happen over and over again, you take a classic place and try to reinvent it and it never works. If an old place is doing it, then keep it that way, if it is time to go then let it be. Look at Balaban's too.
^Actually the old place wasn't doing it. It had closed before Lester Miller bought it. The "let it be" portion still applies though...
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I guess all those pharmaceutical rep dinners and the cougars at the bar weren't enough.
foodicles wrote: While I was never overly impressed with the food, the build out was something else.
That should be on a restaurant tombstone.
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Disappointing if true, but not overly surprising. Website has no info on this.
I've only eaten at BG twice, once before and after the remodel. While neither time was overwhelming food-wise, I must say that I was overwhelmed with the size of the new remodel. The one time I was there, which was shortly after re-opening, they were packed to the gills, but I suspect that they had a big drop off after the novelty factor wore off. A convoluted menu, looking at least twice the size as the old place, paying off the renovations, dealing with the hassle of "valet" parking (which in Ladue is preposterous), I dunno - just seems like they tried to do too much. IMO, the food, again, while good, wasn't enough for me to have gone back again, not at those prices.
Massively expensive space - maybe useful as a function room or subdivided office?
I've only eaten at BG twice, once before and after the remodel. While neither time was overwhelming food-wise, I must say that I was overwhelmed with the size of the new remodel. The one time I was there, which was shortly after re-opening, they were packed to the gills, but I suspect that they had a big drop off after the novelty factor wore off. A convoluted menu, looking at least twice the size as the old place, paying off the renovations, dealing with the hassle of "valet" parking (which in Ladue is preposterous), I dunno - just seems like they tried to do too much. IMO, the food, again, while good, wasn't enough for me to have gone back again, not at those prices.
Massively expensive space - maybe useful as a function room or subdivided office?
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I think it should be a banquet center that hosts meat shoots. THat will draw a crowd! 
lukethedrifter wrote:I guess all those pharmaceutical rep dinners and the cougars at the bar weren't enough.
The cougars (and cougar hunters) are certainly in mourning. It's amazing how the cougar bars can't last:
-Harrys West
-Aqua Vin (EDITED)
-Busch's Grove
The good news is that Tony Bommarito bought it. You would have to guess he can do wonders with the place.
My question to Lester Miller would be if you are going to spend $13 mil to renovate a place, why not drop serious coin for a big name chef? It is all play money to him anyways. There is not a chance he thought he was making any money with that kind of lavish spending on a restaurant.
My question to Lester Miller would be if you are going to spend $13 mil to renovate a place, why not drop serious coin for a big name chef? It is all play money to him anyways. There is not a chance he thought he was making any money with that kind of lavish spending on a restaurant.
dweebe wrote:lukethedrifter wrote:I guess all those pharmaceutical rep dinners and the cougars at the bar weren't enough.
The cougars (and cougar hunters) are certainly in mourning. It's amazing how the cougar bars can't last:
-Harrys West
-Vin de Set
-Busch's Grove
In all of my days I have never witnessed anything like I did on a Wednesday at Aqua Vin. What a scene!
Moorlander wrote:what happened to vin de set?
did you mean Aqua Vin?
Sorry about that: brain fart. I edited my post.
Rchalk wrote:The good news is that Tony Bommarito bought it. You would have to guess he can do wonders with the place.
Why would someone who runs a wine distributorship buy a restaurant?
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bonwich wrote:Rchalk wrote:The good news is that Tony Bommarito bought it. You would have to guess he can do wonders with the place.
Why would someone who runs a wine distributorship buy a restaurant?
To sell himself wine? He'll make a fortune!
bonwich wrote:Rchalk wrote:The good news is that Tony Bommarito bought it. You would have to guess he can do wonders with the place.
Why would someone who runs a wine distributorship buy a restaurant?
He is a partner in Tony's w/ Vincent.
Joe, can you offer any insight or opinions about the closing of Busch's Grove?
Insight: It never followed a capitalist business model. The renovation was incredible, but it never made any economic sense. Lester Miller always said it wasn't a matter of money, but I have to believe that even he had his limits.
Plus it never got a good buzz in the food community, and it never appeared to me to have reclaimed its old-money Ladue following.
Opinion: My review of the place is now the stuff of legend. It really wasn't a bad review at all, but it then took on a life of its own.
It'll be interesting to see how this ultimately plays out.
Plus it never got a good buzz in the food community, and it never appeared to me to have reclaimed its old-money Ladue following.
Opinion: My review of the place is now the stuff of legend. It really wasn't a bad review at all, but it then took on a life of its own.
It'll be interesting to see how this ultimately plays out.
Apparently.bonwich wrote:Lester Miller always said it wasn't a matter of money, but I have to believe that even he had his limits.
bonwich wrote:Insight: It never followed a capitalist business model. The renovation was incredible, but it never made any economic sense. Lester Miller always said it wasn't a matter of money, but I have to believe that even he had his limits.
Plus it never got a good buzz in the food community, and it never appeared to me to have reclaimed its old-money Ladue following.
Opinion: My review of the place is now the stuff of legend. It really wasn't a bad review at all, but it then took on a life of its own.
It'll be interesting to see how this ultimately plays out.
You mean the full page ad he took out in the post to respond to your review?
bonwich wrote:Nothing like a full-page ad to create a legend.
I hope you've got the ad framed and hung somewhere.
how unfortunate. This is EXACTLY why the city of Ladue should NOT have let him tear the original building down. not that it was THAT historic, but on the other hand, tearing that place down, which was had a STRONG St. Louis/old money following to build some nouveux riche restaurant fit for Beverly Hills in Ladue was a total mistake. Bring back the cabins and outdoor bar! that's the ONLY way to bring that place back. It was a very cool space, but it just didn't belong in Ladue.
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Read Big Whitt's Column
It may not be long before the sparkling Busch's Grove will be borrowing a little star power from the highly acclaimed Tony's.
Tony's Vince Bommarito says he is "looking at" an alliance with Busch's Grove owner Lester Miller. Sources say Bommarito is negotiating a lease deal for the 111-year-old county landmark on Clayton Road, which is set to close on May 24. Miller spent a reputed $8 million to spiff it up in 2004.
"We're looking at it, but it's too early to say anything else," said Bommarito. "There is something to it, and then there is nothing to it. I can't say any more than that right now."
The 75-year-old Miller has declared that Busch's Grove was a labor of love, and that it would remain a restaurant as long as he was alive.
He has held to this through rumors of it closing or becoming a party venue and through a series of full-page color advertisements in different publications and billboards in an attempt to pump up business.
Miller couldn't be reached for comment.
Tony's, at 410 Market Street, is the only restaurant in Missouri to receive the AAA five-diamond award and is rated four stars by the Mobil Travel Guide.