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Downsizing. It even happens in the restaurant business.
Last Thursday, Adam and Jason Tilford (above), owners of Barrister’s in Clayton (15 N. Meramec, 314-726-5007), signed a lease with the intention of moving their 100-seat restaurant down the street and around the corner to 7923 Forsyth, into a 75-seater, last occupied by Mazara. Jason's wife, Colleen, is part of the team as well, serving as bookkeeper, marketer, and possessor of the valued female perspective.
The Tilfords also own Tortillaria in the CWE, Milagro Modern Mexican in Webster, and the newly-opened-and-going-gangbusters Mission Taco Joint in the Loop.
The new Barrister’s will now be the next door neighbor to the much-anticipated Libertine (scheduled to open in May in Chez Leon's space), owned by Nick Luedde and cheffed by Josh Galliano. I can say this now: with the closing of Mazara in 2011 and Chez Leon last year, that block of Forsyth had been a painful drive-by. I remember doing so many times, and more than once shaking my head and mumbling, “that’s a shame.”
No longer.
And both new tenants are excited about being neighbors, dropping words like "synergy," "critical mass," and "destination."
After nine years on Meramec, the time was right for the Tilford's to make the move. Adam Tilford explains: "We didn't own the building and it needed a lot of work, inside and out. The building had also changed hands several times recently, which meant improvements were getting put off. Our lease had reverted to month-to-month, the space down the street was available, and Jason and I decided we should jump on it."
In an SLM Q&A with the Tilford brothers in this month’s issue of SLM, Jason Tilford described Barrister’s as “a bar with food made from scratch. Today they’d call that a gastropub, but nine years ago...we just called it a chef-inspired bar.” Over the eight years on Meramec, it had deviated from that focus. Adam Tilford explains: "That location on Meramec had always been a restaurant plus bar. Its configuration lends itself to that disconnect. The new location is smaller, cozier, and less segregated...more in keeping with the Euro-bar gathering place Jason and I originally intended."
Barrister's is one of few restaurant/bars that caters to European soccer fans (Jason is a soccer player), even opening early--as in 5 or 6 AM early--on big match days. A killer weekend brunch (complete with custom Bloody Mary bar) was a natural progression. Don't expect that to change in the new space.
But a few things will.
The new iteration will look more, well, pubbish, with a long bar, high-top tables, and a few raised booths. Twenty beer taps will replace the existing ten, brown liquors will be more in abundance (as they are at Mission), and Chef Jason will bore down on the chef-driven focus, adding fresh pasta, fresh seafood, and fresh cut fries to a trimmed-down Barrister's menu.
The Tilfords will vacate the Meramec space on March 31 and hope to reopen on Forsyth several days later, so needless to say, the build-out is occurring at a double-time pace.
Tilford brothers photo credit: Kevin A. Roberts
