We've lost another one of the legends: Mangia on South Grand has permanently shut down. They tried to find a buyer, but finally gave up.
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Covid has really sped up the restaurant correction. This was going to happen without covid and it started here at the start of the year with Guerrilla closing most of their locations. This isn’t just a STL thing, a lot of people opened restaurants because they had an idea but never did any market research to see if there is enough of a market to support it all.
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Guerilla overleveraged themselves through aggressive expansion based on the inflated numbers they saw during their moment in the regional spotlight. What I am really worried about are these newer local chains like Salt and Smoke or Mission Taco that might collapse all at once like Super Smokers.
Fortunately for Salt and Smoke, they didn't build out their BPV location yet. That could have been the albatross that dragged the entire chain down with it.
Fortunately for Salt and Smoke, they didn't build out their BPV location yet. That could have been the albatross that dragged the entire chain down with it.
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I’m actually somewhat surprised more restaurants haven’t gone out of business. There was a lot of doom and gloom talk early on that made it sound like 50% of all restaurants would close by year end, which is no where close to accurate, at least in StL. It does seem like the pace of closures has ticked upward in December though. I am afraid January could be worse.
It was easier to keep afloat in the summer as outdoor dining was an option. That goes out of the window during the winter, so either the business model adapts so the restaurant can survive on retail takeout *exclusively* (zero dining on premises but more importantly zero catering as there are no large events to cater --> catering is a large source of revenue for many restaurants) or they won't make it through the winter.SouthCityJR wrote: ↑Dec 16, 2020I’m actually somewhat surprised more restaurants haven’t gone out of business. There was a lot of doom and gloom talk early on that made it sound like 50% of all restaurants would close by year end, which is no where close to accurate, at least in StL. It does seem like the pace of closures has ticked upward in December though. I am afraid January could be worse.
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I think STL has managed fairly well so far compared to other cities. Fees like places are closing left and right in Seattle.SouthCityJR wrote:I’m actually somewhat surprised more restaurants haven’t gone out of business. There was a lot of doom and gloom talk early on that made it sound like 50% of all restaurants would close by year end, which is no where close to accurate, at least in StL. It does seem like the pace of closures has ticked upward in December though. I am afraid January could be worse.
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^If he was looking for a buyer maybe he just wanted to retire. I haven't read the story as I was never really a fan anyway. (Though I did like the murals and somewhere around here I have one of Wayne's painted records. Hopefully whatever moves in there will preserve the murals.) In the end, Mangia may have just outlived its day. Maybe without Covid they'd have found a buyer, but I almost bet not. We're not exactly short on pasta joints. Maybe once this hell we're living in has passed someone will open something new there and it too will become an institution in time. South Grand is really going through something of a change anyway as it matures. It's not the smokey counter-culture district it used to be. It's not quite legit yet, but it's changing quickly.
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I wouldn't be surprised if Mangia is eventually reopened. It was beloved by restaurant industry folk.
We're not short on pasta joints, but certainly short on decent ones in that area. Of course not that far from the Hill but for such a diverse dining strip, it was great. Same with Alta Calle. Pretty good food, and was thrilled when S Grand finally got a taco joint.
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^Oh, don't get me wrong, it filled a niche. I ate there a few times. It was decent enough by local Italian standards. But my biggest fear here is for the murals. I hope someone sympathetic opens something decent, but not too expensive or trendy. Something with some staying power. And if that's another pasta joint . . . sure. Okay. Nothing wrong with that. There's a reason we have a bunch. Maybe a good, but unpretentious pizza joint would be even better. (Pizza head does nothing at all for me. Maybe Vito's South?)
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I used to recommend Mangia when I lived on Shaw and was out for a walk on The Hill on Sundays. I would see people walking/driving around looking for an Italian place that was open, and at the time (2002-2007) few if any on The Hill were.
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^Oddly, my favorite Italian joints have probably never been the ones on the Hill anyway. Not that Hill Italian is bad, but most seem about average for local Italian. And while Mangia wasn't my personal favorite they were perfectly tasty and stacked up well against any Hill eatery I've personally sampled. (To be fair, that's not an especially large number. Maybe three. But it does include one or two of the famous ones.) There is something to be said for late night and Sunday hours. I am often hungry late at night and on Sundays.
New restaurant opening in Soulard after the new year in the spot formerly occupied by Oaked, Lynch Street, Fleur de Lily's, Mama Gusto's, Sage, and a different Lynch Street.
https://www.stlmag.com/dining/boo-coo-o ... uary-2021/
https://www.stlmag.com/dining/boo-coo-o ... uary-2021/
Stltoday - 50+ St. Louis restaurants that said farewell in 2020
https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/ ... 11130.html
https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/ ... 11130.html
Fire at The Buttery on South Grand last night. Not sure how bad it was.
RFT - Christmas Night Fire Lights Up The Buttery Diner on South Grand
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/foodblo ... outh-grand
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/foodblo ... outh-grand
Oceano in Clayton said they could close by mid January if things don’t pick up.
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Owners of Sushi Ai have bought the Missouri Bar & Grille building, I assume they’re moving sushi ai from Olive to it
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^ That's kind of a shame - the Olive location is lit. Lotta good memories there.
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Oh, crap. Yeah, the Olive location is really convenient for me. I'd be sorry to see them go.Trololzilla wrote: ↑Dec 28, 2020^ That's kind of a shame - the Olive location is lit. Lotta good memories there.
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TBH I was hoping that it would be a good opportunity to hear it down along with the pawn shop and replace it with something more urban
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I'm not vegan or vegetarian, but I want St. Louis to be a city of diverse dining and entertainment options and thus I found this interesting.
After running a successful pop up event, the Vegan Deli & Butcher in St. Charles has suddenly closed. It seems this is happening in part because the deli quickly outgrew its space, and perhaps in part because the vegan chef may be difficult to work with.
I think something like this belongs on Manchester in The Grove. If there's a huge market for this in St. Charles, there has to be an even bigger one in the city.
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/foodblo ... ell-pop-up
After running a successful pop up event, the Vegan Deli & Butcher in St. Charles has suddenly closed. It seems this is happening in part because the deli quickly outgrew its space, and perhaps in part because the vegan chef may be difficult to work with.
I think something like this belongs on Manchester in The Grove. If there's a huge market for this in St. Charles, there has to be an even bigger one in the city.
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/foodblo ... ell-pop-up
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interesting... it would be great if they could find a place in the city. there have always been a handful of good vegetarian options, but pretty limited compared to other cities. and it gets depressing when you have fifty new BBQ places opening while vegetarians and vegans are perpetually stuck with the same few options. with more and more people eating veg, increased food diversity would make the city more appealing to transplants.
R.I.P. Govinda's.
R.I.P. Govinda's.
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St. Louis seems middle of the pack when it comes to vegan and vegetarian offerings. We definitely need to see more.
A new vegan "nice cream" place is opening in The Grove. Beyond that, how many vegan restaurants does that neighborhood offer?
Confluence Kombucha does vegan food, according to google, and I think Everest has a few options on their menu.
A vegan deli would be hugely successful in this neighborhood. I'm pretty convinced.
A new vegan "nice cream" place is opening in The Grove. Beyond that, how many vegan restaurants does that neighborhood offer?
Confluence Kombucha does vegan food, according to google, and I think Everest has a few options on their menu.
A vegan deli would be hugely successful in this neighborhood. I'm pretty convinced.