I'm not sure how they sneak up on me, but they do. And they just did it again.
Primebar, a medium/large footprint restaurant concept from the same parent company that brought us BarLouie, is 30 days from opening at West County Center, directly next door to McCormick & Schmick's, a stone's throw from BRAVO! and just down the mall from Hanley's Grille & Tap, which opened just a week ago today. That's roughly 900 new seats in one shopping center within a 10 month period. And don't forget about Elephant Bar. Sure, West County is expanding, but...that's a lot of seats...that require a steady ration of butts. I'd love to get my hands on the market study that supports that kind of density, at a time when diners are supposedly eating out less.
Here's what I know about Primebar, although it's hard to get a good bead on it: each unit is designed to be slightly different, tailored to local products, proteins, beverages and tastes; and although it's owned by Chicago-based Restaurants-America, their website does not yet list it.
I was told this should be the sixth unit in the growing chain (after Denver, Los Angeles, Scottsdale, Chicago and Tampa). Only three units have officially opened; the flagship unit, in Denver, opened just last May (website here). Take a look...be interesting to see if our Primebar has the same approach and feel. The Denver unit seats a whopping 500, with a bar that seats 50. I saw a similar size bar in my quickie tour of the WCC space, but this unit will seat more like 250.
One thing's for certain: come Spring, the patio complex shared by M&S, BRAVO! and Primebar will become ground zero for the let's-eat-outside-tonight crowd. -- George Mahe
