urbanSTL

I am guessing they will be going into the old AJ's, since they would then have street exposure.

Will there be any outdoor seating? It would be great to get some outdoor-seated restaurants in downtown. It would make me

I hope they understand the downtown market and the change in the market over the past 5 years. Otherwise, they'll probably be doomed from the get-go.



Downtown is fiercely independent and chef-focused. Over-the-top chain steakhouse may not be appealing to consumers.



I had some east coast business associates in last week who were awestruck at Mosaic and An American Place.



However, Smith and Wolensky seems to do well against independents in similar markets.

Matt wrote:I hope they understand the downtown market and the change in the market over the past 5 years. Otherwise, they'll probably be doomed from the get-go.



Downtown is fiercely independent and chef-focused. Over-the-top chain steakhouse may not be appealing to consumers.



I had some east coast business associates in last week who were awestruck at Mosaic and An American Place.



However, Smith and Wolensky seems to do well against independents in similar markets.

It will be in close proximity to several hotels, which is a plus. Hopefully Carmine's will be okay despite the new competition.

Something's way wrong with this picture. Ruth's Chris has very few multi-location cities, and downtown and Clayton are awfully close to each other, relatively speaking, for them to do it in this relatively small market.



I smell a sweetheart deal where RC will pay little or no rent for the first few years. That's too bad, because downtown has been badly overbuilt in terms of steakhouses for quite a while.

^ Agreed

dweebe wrote:

jlblues wrote:^As chain steakhouses go, I'm still holding out for Smith & Wollensky downtown.

rencelas wrote:Morton's in Singapore was one of my best meals ever...

I really hope that wasn't your choice.

Nobody should ever need to justify having a damn good steak.

Meh, I love steak as much as anyone else, but it's about the meat, not about the place grilling it. With the same meat, I can make a steak just as good as anything at Morton's on the Weber in my backyard. And I don't charge as much. Morton's, for me, is more about the experience, along with the sides, wine, liquor, etc., than it is about the steak.



In any case, Singapore has some of the best, and the widest variety of, restaurants and cuisine on the planet, more than enough to try a new place, and something you've never had before, every night for a year, and there are many, many restaurants far better than Morton's. So I never understand when someone chooses a restaurant that they could go to anytime in almost any major city in the U.S. Personally, I save my trips to Morton's for when I'm on business in someplace like Columbus or Hartford.

I walked by the Hyatt the other day and they had all the signage up. The P-D reports they are opening on Monday, followed by the usual insightful comments

Ruth’s Chris set to open in downtown St. Louis

By Tim Bryant

St. Louis Post-Dispatch





Ruth’s Chris Steak House is about to return to downtown St. Louis.



In the 1990s, the chain had a restaurant in an interesting basement space in the Court Square building on 11th Street. The new restaurant is scheduled to open Monday in the newly refurbished Hyatt Regency Riverfront Hotel, on Chestnut Street.

Link

The new awnings are already an improvement. The views of the Arch grounds should be great.



I wish the Hyatt would light its facade - the building is really dark at night.

brickandmortar wrote:I walked by the Hyatt the other day and they had all the signage up. The P-D reports they are opening on Monday, followed by the usual insightful comments...

At least this time there were plenty of people taking the Debbie Downers to the woodshed on this one, including a frequent poster I recognized from this forum and another commenter that identified himself as being from West County.



Perhaps other people are getting tired of the bashing, and it's not just city dwellers and/or forum users that live elsewhere that are sick of it? That's good to see.