Category: Food

{ The future home of Snax Gastrobar }

Arlene Maminta Browne and Stanley Browne have announced their first non-Robust Wine Bar concept: Snax Gastrobar, set to open in early March, as reported by St. Louis Magazine.

As The Scoop reported last month, the Brownes, who own both locations of Robust Wine Bar in Webster Groves and downtown St. Louis, announced in December that they would open a new restaurant in the space that once housed J McArthur’s An American Kitchen at 3500 Watson Road. J McArthur’s shuttered on Dec. 31 after a year-and-a-half in business.

While the term “gastropub” often indicates a substantial beer list, Arlene Maminta Browne said “gastrobar” is intended to reflect not only a large beer selection, but plenty of wines and classic cocktails as well. “We were in Chicago and talking about this concept,” she said. “And the name just came into my head.”

Browne said Robust executive chef Joseph L. Hemp V will oversee the development of an “upscale, humble food” menu. “He loves fine dining, but he has a real passion for this type of food,” she said, adding that no specific menu items have been decided upon yet. Hemp also has an ownership stake in the new restaurant.

Browne said there will be approximately 45 seats inside the space, 50 seats on the enclosed patio in front of the building and 25 seats on the back patio. Though the space does require some décor changes, Browne said no major renovations are needed. Initially, Snax will only be open for dinner, but lunch service is a possibility. Browne said it’s possible that other Snax locations may open up around town if the concept proves popular.

Photo by Michelle Volansky 

Related Content
• The Scoop: J McArthur’s to close, new concept from Robust owners to open

• The Scoop: Robust to close its Edwardsville location 

• Best New Restaurants 2015: J McArthur’s An American Kitchen

By Matt Sorrell

Tags: Arlene Maminta Browne, J McArthur’s An American Kitchen, Robust Wine Bar, Snax Gastropub, Stanley Browne, The Scoop

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 26th, 2017 at 5:20 pm and is filed under The Scoop. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Giovanni’s On The Hill at 5201 Shaw Ave., was damaged by fire on Wednesday, Jan. 26. Co-owner Carmelo Gabriele said no one was hurt, but the building did suffer substantial damage.

Gabriele said the fire most likely started as a result of some electrical work being done on the restaurant’s second floor. He said that level sustained “extensive damage,” and there was also some smoke and water damage on the first floor, though the kitchen itself was untouched. Gabriele said initially he expects the restaurant to be closed approximately 60 days.

“Initially, it looks like it’ll cost more than $500,000 to get us up and running,” he said. He had no estimate as to when the second floor would reopen.

St. Louis fire department Captain Garon Patrick Mosby confirmed that investigators believe the fire was electrical in nature and accidental.

Gabriele said the company has insurance to help cover employees who will be out of work during the rebuilding, and the company is also working to find positions for them at its other restaurants, Giovanni’s Kitchen in Ladue and Il Bel Lago in Creve Coeur. “Our employees are covered. No one is going to be left out in the cold,” he said.

The restaurant was fully booked for Valentine’s Day, so Gabriele said he and the staff are in the process of contacting those customers and finding them reservations at other places. “We’re making this as easy as possible for our customers,” he said. “They’ve been so good to us for 44 years.”

Editor’s note: This post was updated at 11:15 a.m. Jan. 26 to include information from the St. Louis fire department. 

Photo by Allyson Mace

Related Content
• Facebook Video: Fire at Giovanni’s On the Hill

• The Scoop: New Waterloo brewery catches fire Sunday

• The Scoop: The Sweet Divine catches fire, owners intend to rebuild

By Matt Sorrell

Tags: Carmelo Gabriele, fire, Giovanni’s Kitchen, Giovanni’s on the hill, Il Bel Lago, Matt Sorrell, The Hill, The Scoop

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 26th, 2017 at 10:59 am and is filed under The Scoop. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

White Rooster Farmhouse Brewery is set to start brewing in Sparta, Illinois, in the near future. Co-owner Mike Deutschmann said the brewery should be up and running at 113 W. Jackson St., this spring.

White Rooster will specialize in wood-aged beers in a variety of styles, including saisons, sours, stouts and barleywines. The name of the brewery is an homage to a certain white fowl that hung around while Deutschmann and his partners, Eric Ogilvie and Chris Van Horn, were doing some homebrewing at Ogilvie’s barn. He said it also references the rooster on the flag of Wallonia, a region of Belgium well known for its beers.

Deutschmann estimated he, Ogilvie and Van Horn have completed 75 percent of the construction at the brewery, which formerly housed a Kroger’s. The 7,500-square-foot building includes enough space for a two-barrel system, a cellar for barrel aging and a tasting room, which will have approximately 75 seats and feature some snack-type options, but not a full kitchen.

Deutschmann said initially the White Rooster Farmhouse will focus on bottling, with maybe a few kegs here and there, and all the offerings will be available through the brewery. He added that eventually the brewery might self-distribute on a limited basis in Illinois.

Related Content
• Sauce Magazine: Guide to Beer 2016

• The Scoop: Two Plumbers Brewing & Arcarde to open in St. Charles

• Elixir: Buzzed Brews

By Matt Sorrell

Tags: beer, brewery, Chris Van Horn, coming soon, Eric Ogilvie, Illinois, Matt Sorrell, Mike Deutschmann, opening, Sparta, The Scoop, White Rooster Farmhouse Brewery

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2017 at 3:57 pm and is filed under The Scoop. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The Scoop: Smokin’ Monkey food truck has closed

January 25th 12:01pm, 2017

The James Beard Foundation has announced the five recipients of its 2017 America’s Classics award, and one of St. Louis’ longtime favorites has landed on the list. Gioia’s Deli is the first St. Louis restaurant to receive the honor since the award’s inception in 1998.

“It’s a whirlwind. It’s been crazy,” said co-owner Alex Donley. He received news of the event late last year. “I was sitting in a movie theater with my daughter, and I got this call from New York. I just ignored it. I thought it was someone wanting money or something.”

Gioia’s Deli opened in 1918 and began life as a grocery store. The Gioia family sold the deli to the Donley family in 1980, when it began a second incarnation as a lunch spot famous for its Hot Salami sandwich. The Gioia’s food truck debuted in 2014, and a second location opened downtown, with the same menu as the original restaurant, last year.

To qualify for the award, restaurants have to have been in business for at least 10 years and be locally owned. The America’s Classic award honors restaurants that restaurants that “have timeless appeal and are cherished for quality food that reflects the character of their community,” according to the announcement from the James Beard Foundation.

“In an ever-changing culinary landscape, these honorees have created enduring restaurants and food establishments that have not only stood the test of time, but continue to bring people together in celebration of the unique flavors in America’s vast food scene,” Susan Ungaro, president of the James Beard Foundation, said in the announcement.

Donley said he’s ready for a bump in business once word of the award gets out. “We’re so excited,” he said. “We’re preparing for the storm and making sure the lines won’t be too long.”

The other awardees include La Taqueria in San Francisco; Sahadi’s in Brooklyn; Schultz’s Crab House in Essex, Maryland; and Bertha’s Kitchen in Charleston, South Carolina. Gioia’s Deli and the rest of this year’s winners will be recognized on Monday, May 1 at the James Beard Foundation Awards Gala in Chicago.

Related Content
• Sneak Peek: Gioia’s Deli Downtown

• The Scoop: Gioia’s Deli to open second location downtown

• 92 years of hot salamis

By Matt Sorrell

Tags: Alex Donley, American Classics, award, Gioia’s Deli, James Beard Foundation, JBF, Matt Sorrell, sandwich shop, The Scoop

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2017 at 11:46 am and is filed under The Scoop. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

The Scoop: Kakao wins third Good Food Award

January 24th 02:01pm, 2017

The Scoop: Katie’s Pizza & Pasta to open Town & Country location

January 20th 04:01pm, 2017