For an organization that’s designed to host both casual and lavish events, it’s fitting that the Saint Louis Club is celebrating its own major milestone this year.
In December, the private social club, founded in 1964 by a group of local businessmen, will mark its 60th anniversary at its new home in Clayton’s Centene Tower (7676 Forsyth). The club moved across the street last year from its previous headquarters inside the Pierre Laclede Center.
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General Manager Michael Brady says the new location’s state-of-the art technology was one of the biggest drivers behind the decision to relocate.
“Our niche is where the business community does business,” says Brady, noting how the new rooms are set up with large television screens and wireless capabilities that make them an easy and comfortable place to work. The club’s new digs take up the entirety of the third floor, a marked contrast from its previous layout which was spread out among three floors. At 40,000 square feet, the new location offers plenty of space for hosting events, too, such as weddings, bat mitzvahs, and Christmas parties. The installation of automatic partitions that divide the two ballrooms make it possible to host multiple events at one time.
The club hired Bentel & Bentel, a New York-based architectural firm that boasts three James Beard awards for restaurant design, to bring new life and style to the club.
Architect Carol Bentel, a St. Louis native, worked with her husband Paul Bentel, to freshen the look, removing its former corporate office aesthetic and, in its place, combining lush color, a mix of fabrics, and contemporary lighting and artwork. “We knew we had to soften the edges,” says Carol Bentel. “We also created a lot of paneling and millwork that made the place feel like it had been there and was not totally new,” she says.
The space includes a fine dining room, a casual eating area, main bar, and nine private spaces. Club members are granted access to the building’s shared patio space, which is open to them for events on weekday evenings and weekends from May through Halloween.
The fine dining room, or Saint Louis Room, seats 80 diners across 20 tables. Wood screens are situated against the windows, creating a fourth wall that helps to offset the look of an office building with its traditional big glass walls. The room’s elegant banquette seating is dressed in a warm brindle.
A large casement window, coffered ceiling, and contemporary light fixtures mark the casual dining area. Separated into two spaces, it can seat 76 people across 18 tables. The club hired local artist Peter Engelsmann to paint a mural for the room.
In a nod to the club’s logo, the Corner Bar is decorated in green and gold hues with a large painting by Missouri artist Bryan Haynes; and a wine cellar lines the hallway from the bar to the kitchen. “You want architecture to speak about the place without you standing there and talking about it, so [with this feature] you can see that the [club] is wine-centric,” says Carol Bentel. The cellar is also visible from the private wine room.
Brady calls the 8,000-square-foot kitchen a “Lamborghini of kitchens.” It features two, 360-degree islands where Executive Chef Mathieu Lefebvre works alongside his team. For diners who want in on the action, a glass-enclosed room lined in a green, floral William Morris wallpaper is open for bookings–and the seven-course meal that’s prepared for its guests.
Brady has nothing but praise for the Bentels’ work. “They’re the nicest human beings in the world and were a complete pleasure to work with,” he says. The club’s members have also taken to the new, fresh look. Says Brady: “We’ve kept our standards in tact and we’re evolving, as we should, for the generations to come.”
