Photograph by Thomas Chadwick
More than four decades after defecting to the Windy City, the ridiculously successful restaurateur and St. Louis native is back, and he’s bringing two restaurants with him. Can someone say, “It’s about time”?
Ask any high school football player who ever played on “the line”: You never forget the guy who played next to you, your blocking buddy, your wingman, the “Goose” to your “Maverick.” You were a team within the team. It’s a bond that would last beyond your last gridiron game together—and in the case of Larry Levy and Ted Koplar, well beyond.
Having finished a respectable 6-1-1 in 1962, Ladue linemates Koplar and Levy split in different directions, with Levy eventually founding Levy Restaurants in Chicago and Koplar furthering his father’s communications and real-estate interests in Missouri.
One year ago, after 45 years apart, they became teammates yet again and appear to have engineered a game-winning play: In late September, Koplar’s $20 million Maryland Plaza redevelopment became home field to not one, but two Levy restaurants. Over the years, Levy Restaurants has won awards for establishments that are dynamic, creative and flat-out well-done. Every city covets one—and now we get two. Double-team indeed.
Not so well-known is the range of the Levy empire—its Sports and Entertainment Group (in partnership with the U.K.’s Compass Group) operates upscale dining facilities at 75 sports and entertainment venues worldwide, from Wrigley Field to Los Angeles’ Staples Center to the Edward Jones Dome. It also caters gargantuan events like the Kentucky Derby, the World Series, the Super Bowl and the Grammy Awards.
The empire began modestly in Chicago, 30 years ago, with the purchase of D.B. Kaplan’s Deli. Levy brothers Larry and Mark—with their mother tweaking the recipes—immersed themselves “not just in the food, but in the thousand details that surround it.” Their success still stands on the shoulders of “thousand-detail dining” and “The Levy Difference.” And on Mom’s: Eadie Levy, age 86, still works front of the house at Chicago’s Fulton’s on the River. Who says the restaurant business will kill you?
At long last, St. Louisans finally get to experience “The Levy Difference.” A preliminary thumbs-up goes to the flagship, ~scape, for the most creative and interpretive restaurant name in years. Ten-foot windows overlook a transformed Maryland Plaza landscape, from within this “American bistro with a European flair” escape. You get the idea. Although under wraps at press time, the food promises even more interpretations of the suffix, the only hint being: Flash Fried Blue Cheese Olives. Sharing a hallway in the former Medical Arts Building is Crepes: etc., a more laid-back, coffee-and-a-snack crêperie, with soups and gelato as bookends. Crepes: etc. will be less structured, designed for either grab-and-go speed or a light meal.
In an interview with St. Louis Magazine, Larry Levy talked about his days in St. Louis, how this deal finally came down and why his octogenarian mother is still working in restaurants.
I just spoke with your friend Ted Koplar. Did he say he played tackle? He’s a slender guy. He played right tackle, and I played right end. He was bigger then, big and tough, and he had the most enormous calves I’ve ever seen in my life. His face still looks the same, but yeah, his body is thin.
And you? After 45 years in the food business, I’m, well … about the same.
Ted and his son Sam are turning Maryland Plaza into the showcase it used to be. The Central West End is becoming top of mind again. You know, in every neighborhood that has come back in every great city, it’s really been led by a restaurant or two. People come out, they become adventurous, they make the area worthwhile again, and then comes the restored housing and the lofts—and it lives a second life.
The first big question: What took you so long to open a restaurant here? We’re right down the road from Chicago. Because I am a terrible driver. No … we are partners with Vince Bommarito at the Edward Jones Dome, and we’ve always looked at opportunities, like on Washington Avenue. To open a restaurant these days, though, it’s really got to be compelling. What we’ve done in sports venues has often been more compelling than a restaurant in terms of opportunity, but I’ve always wanted to open a restaurant in St. Louis. I’ve always known that St. Louis is a great restaurant city.
So what factor sealed the deal for you? It really started with my longstanding relationship with Ted, but in this case, I was not the first one contacted. I’m now the non-executive chairman of the company and spend a lot of my time doing other things, and I was out of town when the initial doorbells rang. When I heard that the area being discussed was the old Maryland Plaza, I could easily see that area coming back, getting gentrified and hip again.
It was long overdue. I got excited, and then Ted came up here and we talked it over at a Cards-Cubs game—the coldest baseball game I’ve ever been to in my life. Talked over the whole thing to keep from freezing to death. It was opening day last year, 2006.
So we’ve got the Cubbies to thank? Yeah, and we won the game, too. But you guys did OK, as I recall.
Who came up with the name ~scape? It’s wide open to interpretation. Very unusual. I think ~scape is a neat name because it’s a center of a neighborhood, the point of view about a neighborhood, the warm welcoming spirit of a neighborhood. It’s receptive and sophisticated, fashionable. It’s got a lot of things going for it.
You call it “an American bistro with a European flair.” What makes it European? The food, décor, service? European bistros are typically in old historic kinds of buildings, and they’re usually small, warm, friendly neighborhood places—and that all works here. One thing I always told people in my company is that I grew up in St. Louis, and it has the warmest, best hospitality in the world. People in St. Louis are really nice to each other. I’ve been lucky to instill this attitude all over.
Chicago’s pretty friendly, too. Absolutely. But when people ask me the key to success, the secret weapon has always been warm, friendly, Midwestern hospitality, like you see in bistros in Europe. You think of France and Austria as sort of snotty, but not in the bistros; the bistros are where the locals go, and they’re all nice to each other. That’s what will make
it European.
Which leads me right into another question: The second restaurant, Crepes: etc., sounds even more like a bistro. Was the plan always for two restaurants, side by side? No, the plan was for one place, and then Ted and Sam got so excited about the quality of what we could do for them, what these two complementary restaurants could mean for their real estate there. Everyone involved felt the neighborhood needed a quality grab-and-go place, so here we are: a small [1,600 square feet], modernized French crêperie, open at all times of the day.
And ~scape is on three levels? The lower level will be darker, quieter, romantic, with drinks and desserts and a private dining wine room. Upstairs there will be a wide-open show kitchen with a private-party atmosphere. There are places like that in Chicago that have become the place for parties. The main one is The Butcher Block, which is perfect for cooking lessons, rehearsal dinners, birthdays—you know, for somebody that doesn’t want to show off, but wants to do something communal. There’s an incredible outdoor courtyard shared by both restaurants.
And the courtyard is outstanding. Very private. Off-street. Best in town. Think European back street.
Will ~scape be priced like a bistro, or will it be more special-occasion? The check average will be around $40 per person at night, including drinks—call it a better bistro. For the amount of sophistication and atmosphere, our goal is to exceed people’s expectations.
Do you have any special treats or signature dishes in mind? Could the next toasted ravioli come out of here? There are a couple of sure-fire things, but I can’t talk about them just yet. The French fries might be the best in St. Louis, that’s all I’ll say.
You’ve done 75 sports and entertainment venues. How do you make money when the venue is dark most of the time? Where do those employees go? It’s a great question. For 90 percent of our staff, it’s a second job, one of the greatest second jobs you could ever have; our venue is typically the most important place to be in that town on that night. You make a lot per shift, so we get a better class of person doing the job—a lot of schoolteachers, policemen. They can pick up an extra $150 to $200 in a short time.
I know your catering does the US Open—that has to be a logistical nightmare. It’s the biggest tennis event in the world—$15 million in sales in 14 days. Crazy. Scores of private boxes, two incredible restaurants and the fanciest food court you’ve ever seen. We fly in people from our restaurants and sports centers—we couldn’t do it any other way. Because it’s so successful, we can pay extra for it. Plus, vacationing employees are back home by Labor Day and are happy to have the extra money.
Lately it seems you’ve devoted more time to sports venues than restaurants. Not really. It hasn’t grown as fast, and for a while we decided not to grow it at all. We gave our chefs the opportunity to win awards, and they won them. Then we made the decision four years ago that we were ready to start growing again.
How often do you get back here, and what do you eat when you come? Three times a year. Unfortunately, I’m usually at a Levy event, so I don’t do as much dining around as I’d like. I always stop into Tony’s, just to hear Vince’s stories. My parents went there 50 years ago when it was a spaghetti joint. Today, Vince and I’ll sit in his office and eat a bowl of pasta.
How about lower end? Blueberry Hill—lower-end prices, upper-end burger.
We have restaurants popping up here like crazy. Is this a Midwestern trend, a national thing, or is St. Louis just in a growth spurt? It’s nationwide. Americans have the most sophisticated palates in the world now. We have really become a country of immigrants, so we have cuisines from everywhere. That wasn’t true 30 years ago. I bet Chicago has more Thai restaurants now than Bangkok.
Is there any pet peeve that really bugs you, something that you just won’t allow? There are things that do drive me crazy in my restaurants, but when I’m at somebody else’s place and the same thing goes wrong, it kind of makes me feel good. You know what I mean? It’s like, “Thank God this one’s not mine,” you know? But in our restaurants, what bugs me is a server bringing out some food that they could see with their eyes was wrong. And a chef not tasting everything—basic human errors that let the whole team down.
So are you a small-plates guy or an entrée guy? I’m an entrée guy, but I’m not against small plates. You know how people say their weakness is sweets? My weakness is entrées.
So the famous Levy dessert cart wasn’t your idea. Not my idea, but again, well executed. The dessert cart is served in all 75 of our sports venues, and we average almost two desserts per capita.
You’re kidding. It sounds like a lie until you realize that the person consuming that dessert is not the one paying for it. It’s usually a company, and the host is saying, “You’re really an important customer of mine, take one home, try a couple.” It’s really something.
What food from St. Louis do you pine for in Chicago? Ted Drewes doesn’t count. They’re all childhood memories. Fried chicken at a place called Stoplights. And Ed’s White Front: barbecue beef on white bread, coleslaw on the sandwich.
What’s a former St. Louisan’s take on the closing of Highway 40? Let me tell you about Highway 40—and this scar near my chin. I lived in a small subdivision in Richmond Heights, and when Highway 40 was built, it went right by my back yard. One day there was a rally at my house to try to stop it. I fell down the stairs that day. So anytime I hear “Highway 40,” my lip hurts.
OK, moving on. What is “The Levy Difference”? It starts with food that tastes better than other people’s food; it’s almost always simply prepared, with big flavors. I’m a total believer in “not too adorned.” Our goal is to take out ingredients from recipes, not put more in. And it’s that St. Louis–style hospitality that I learned at home. We also follow the “The answer is yes, what’s the question?” philosophy. In other words, treat the customer like a guest in your home; anything he needs to be happy.
You sound like Danny Meyer. No surprise—we both grew up in the same city. Danny’s a very good friend. I won the Academy Award of the restaurant business, the Gold Plate Award, in 2000, and Danny won in 2001. I handed him his award. I referenced St. Louis in my speech, and he referenced St. Louis in his.
You’ve been quoted as saying, “If you enjoy what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life.” So what’s the most satisfying part of … not working? Well, there are days where that’s definitely not true. But I have been lucky. That “follow your passion” is true. I have always loved food, wine, people, rock ’n’ roll music and sports, and it is no accident that I found a way to weave all those into my life. I go to the Kentucky Derby every year, and not only do I get to go to the Grammy Awards to cater it, but I’m on the board of the Grammys— big rock ’n’ roll fan.
Really? That was my dad’s business; he was a promoter and a record distributor. Our house was filled with records, absolutely. Yeah, everything I wound up doing turned out to be fun. Now I have the resources to make a significant impact by giving back. I’m getting more pleasure out of that than I did making it the first time around.
Doesn’t surprise me. My wife and I have endowed two entrepreneur programs at the Kellogg School at Northwestern, where I went. One is for teaching the development of entrepreneurship; the other one encourages social not-for-profit entrepreneurship, using business techniques to try to make the world a better place.
You said you have other interests. Are you getting away from restaurants? Yes and no. I stopped being the CEO of my company four years ago, when I realized I had 15,000 employees and $500 million in sales. I said, “This is not what I do; I’m an entrepreneur.” So I spend half my time with restaurants and the other half developing real estate.
And you’re still making your mom work? My mom is unbelievable. Still at Fulton’s and an inspiration to everybody here. She’s as spry as she can be, as sharp as she can be and as pretty as she can be.
A few quickies: Chicago-style or thin-crust? I grew up in St. Louis, so I’m a thin-crust guy. If you come to Café Spiaggia for lunch, you’ll find the best thin-crust pizza in Chicago. We did the first wood-burning ovens here, but I learned that style at the old Rossino’s near Saint Louis University. That pizza was my model for Spiaggia.
Cubs fan or Cards fan? Well, eventually I was converted by my kids—they’re fanatic Cubs fans. The Cubs will be 10 games out of first with 20 games to go, and they say, “Gee, I don’t know, it’s still not over.” These were smart kids—Stanford and Yale—but their minds totally cramp up when discussing the Cubs.
I may get banished to Murphy’s Bleachers for this, but it just may be the Cubs in October. You’ve been talking to my kids.
Notable Levy Restaurants and Accomplishments
- Forty-foot windows grace Spiaggia, Levy’s most notable property. Chef/partner Tony Mantuano was James Beard’s Best Chef: Midwest for 2005, and the restaurant was nominated for James Beard’s Outstanding Restaurant in ’05 and ’06—no small feat after 23 years. Café Spiaggia, the sleeper next door, offers the same cuisine in casual surroundings and at casual prices.
- Just off Michigan Avenue and in its 20th year, Bistro 110 is still a favorite of many St. Louisans. A precursor to the bistro trend, it remains the definition of bistro style. In winter, spirits are buoyed by wild floral murals and an enclosed patio.
- Grab your Uggs and head for Deer Valley, up-mountain from Park City, Utah, to find Bistro Toujours, voted one of the Top 50 Best New Restaurants in the World in 2002 by Condé Nast Traveler. The mountain views from the bar, Buvez, are superb, whether après ski or après hike. Not hard to find, but hard to leave.
- A quick-serve café on the plaza level of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, the largest Catholic cathedral in the nation, Galero Grill was recently voted “Best Place to Go on a Sunday” (of course) by the Los Angeles Downtown News.
- At Orlando’s Disney World, when you reach the end of that fast-food rope—and you will—head for Wolfgang Puck Grand Café, a real restaurant that delivers a quality product to all age groups: French fries for them, a French Burgundy for you.
