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News comes this evening that Matt McGuire will be leaving Central Table Food Hall, the megalopolis of a restaurant located at 23 S. Euclid Ave in the CWE. McGuire has been the GM at Central Table since it opened nearly six months ago. His last day is tomorrow, October 14.
McGuire (left) is planning to stay in the restaurant business and in St. Louis, but at the present time those plans have not been finalized.
McGuire left his position as GM of Brasserie by Niche to assume the same position at Central Table. Prior to Brasserie, McGuire was GM at the former Monarch in Maplewood, and prior to that was owner of the famed King Louie's at 3800 Chouteau, a restaurant he closed in 2007.
When news that Central Table Food Hall--an "Eataly-style" restaurant, we were told--was coming to St. Louis, local foodies were abuzz. When the many-armed concept with the difficult to interpret name was further explained, we foodies were perplexed:Central Table was going to be a grab and go market, a place for coffee and a pastry in the morning, a gourmet food court (for lack of a better descriptor) at lunchtime, and at night, a full-on restaurant that somehow could produce dishes from four independent kitchen lines, the items arriving either just as they were cooked, small plates-style, or more traditionally, in standard course format. And when the place finally opened in April, we were blown away.
The lead chef on each line communicated with his cohorts via headsets, and in a feat of organizational and electronic wizardry, dinner would appear exactly as it was ordered. Making sure the process worked day in and out was McGuire. We'll go so far as to say that not many managers in town could pull off such a head-numbing feat.
We also appreciate that McGuire elected not to jam Central Table's 10,000 square foot maw (above) wall-to-wall with tables. The space was huge, granted, but it sure didn't feel like it nor have the ear-piercing decibel level a place that size could have. Being able to converse at dinner without becoming hoarse or resorting to lip-reading was to us just as memorable as its excellent and creative food. We can only hope Central Table maintains a focus as professional and determined as was Matt McGuire's.
UPDATE, Tuesday, October 22, 6:15 PM: Matt McGuire just clocked in as the new General Manager at Niche, Gerard Craft's flagship restaurant in Clayton. Stellar restaurant, stellar captain...let's just say an awesome restaurant just got a bit awesomer.
Central Table Food Hall interior photo by Kevin A. Roberts
