Hey, if an opening announcement is affixed to a window using blue painter's tape, that makes it official enough for us.
Construction on the renovation at 255 Union Blvd began last winter, the RFT's Ian Froeb caught the prelims back in April, and the sign at left caught Relish's eye yesterday. Pending liquor license approval and a construction completed by mid-August, the so German/American gastropub dubbed the Rhine Haus Eatery & Pub could open by September 1, according to GM Kirk Apazeller (owner of a local marketing company and former partner at Beso/Red on Washington Ave).
Its owner is Mark A. Johnson, formerly of Bella Luna (now Trattoria Branica) in Kirkwood and prior owner of a popular teen hang-out in North County, Club 12-12.
In its day, the Westmoreland Building on Union Blvd was--legitimately--one of the more attractive restaurant spaces in town: a wall of large, round top French windows faced Union, as did a large, off-street patio. In the rear was one of the coolest traditional wooden bars around, with heavy, low-hanging shelves, lots of stem-hung glassware, and liquors tapped from similarly-inverted 1.75 liter bottles. The place looked like it had been teleported from 1970's London.
The most recent tenant in the space was Spyglass on the Park (closed now for several years); before that (and in order) was Q's Sports Bar and Grill, The Excelsior Club, Turvey's on the Green, Tango Grill, Parkfront Grill, and a rockin' place run by Jimmy Kristo (now of Jimmy's on the Park) called An American Brasserie. All this since 1990.
According to Apazeller, he and Johnson will recreate "that Old World feel," refurbishing the space in all its plaster-cast glory rather than taking the just-replace-it route. There'll be old-time bar games, too, like steel-tipped darts and shuffleboard. (When Relish launched a pitch for a puck-bowling machine, we were informed that alas, there would be no electronic games, even vintage ones.)
The menu will complement the theme, with the "gastropub" aspect leaning heavily to the American side. Apazeller hoped that featuring a few "German items in a town with a strong German presence" would prove to be a curiosity and ultimately a magnet. The chef is Tyler Rundquist, formerly of Jim Edmond's 15 Steakhouse. Guests can expect both Bavarian and American craft beers to be offered, with old-time "yards" of beer available as well. Apazeller told Relish that Rhine Haus is being designed and priced to be "the perfect neighborhood hang out, one that's affordable a couple of times a week."
The space is large (3200 SF front of house and the intention is to even build a smaller, secondary patio, as a concession to smokers. Apazeller reasoned that "Smokers and non-smokers always end up sharing the same outside space--and neither are happy about it."
There are local scribes who eschew the use of the word "eatery" to describe a restaurant (Relish has succumbed a time ot two), now Rhine Haus has made it part of their logo and message. Relish is on the fence with this one: eatery is a debatable, although decidedly American tag line. Count your blessings...they could have called it a Bar und Grill.
