Bonwich - Off Topic

[davidnark]

Any word on when and if David Slay's new restaurant is going to open? They appeared to be working hard on the property all summer, but I haven't seen any construction activity in at least a month. I was really looking forward to that place.

[SLUNATE]

am i the only person that thinks someone in st. louis attaining 'celebrity chef' status is nuts? Don't get me wrong, his restaurants are top knotch, but aren't we a little more down to earth than all that? I'd rather see the Komorek's open another place, than see another David Slay or Del Pietro concept

[bonwich]

You're in luck, Nate -- I've heard that the Komoreks and G&W are doing a joint venture where the specialty of the house will be knotchwurst.

The word on David's place hasn't been positive lately. Linda Tucci did a brief piece on him about two months ago where he admitted his business was going through a "difficult time." On top of that, the alleged downtown "boom" that was supposed to accompany the opening of the convention center hotel is sputtering on any number of cylinders. I guess you saw that the hotel bonds were downgraded and that business is lower than projected, and in addition to David's holding pattern, the restaurant in the WS hotel closed and the "high-end" restaurant in the convention hotel itself, supposed to be called Post & Sons, has still not opened.

Of course (editorial comment), arenas and stadia are proven development tools that bring loads of new commerce to an area, so with the Jones Dome right next door, how could that area help but be successful?

[davidnark]

The problem is that, as of yet, the convention hotel has not boosted the convention presence in downtown. Without that boost, the downtown hotels are largely cannibalizing each other's business. The convention hotel has, however, provided enough of a boost to make Kitchen K successful.

In a lot of ways, Slay's new restaurant is more likely to get a boost from the Post Office project. Assuming Webster University and the Court of Appeals successfully transition into the post office space and the propsed residential developments in the surrouding buildings are completed (the Roberts Brothers two projects, the Paul Brown project, and the Syndicate Trust Project), Slay's restaurant would appear to fit a much need niche. I guess those are a lot of ifs.

At the risk of sounding like Yogi, I maintain pessimistically optimistic.

Post Script: My wife and I spent last weekend in downtown Indianapolis. It is amazing how that city has transformed its downtown over the last eight years. Granted, they are only dealing with about four or five sqare blocks, but there are no vacant buildings in those blocks, and there is an abundance of restaurant and good retail. It is sad that Indy can fix their downtown and we cannot fix ours.

[SLUNATE]

k-wurst?

you're so fired

[eskimo]

I'm all for the redevelopment of downtown, so I don't want to discourage people from frequenting the area...however I tried Kitchen K a few weeks ago only to be quite disappointed. I probably should have known, but the Sweet Potato Fries were just to interesting to pass up. The steak tasted like it was cooked right on the coals...blah.

[Box and Won]

I ate at Kitchen K for lunch about a week ago and enjoyed it (including the sweet potato fries). The place itself is very cool, and I'd like to check out its bar sometime.