When a devastating fire ripped through Asador Del Sur in Maplewood last August, owners Maria Giamportone and Daniel Gonzalez worried that their restaurant dreams may have ended.
Less than a year after the that tragic day, however, the husband and wife are preparing to reopen their South American grill in a new location with a yet-to-be-decided name.
As first reported by 40 South News and confirmed to SLM by Giamportone, the pair recently signed a lease for a storefront at 7014 Chippewa, a former El Maguey restaurant on the far western edge of St. Louis Hills. There is no estimated opening date at this time, given the extensive renovations required.
“I’d love to say we could be open in six months, but I’m not sure we will make that deadline, so I really can’t say,” Giamportone says. “The bones are good, but the building itself needs a lot of work before we can even start prepping the restaurant. We are going to do things little by little.”
The New Restaurant
Giamportone loved the restaurant’s former location in Maplewood. Despite trying to find another building in the neighborhood, however, she says there wasn’t anything available that fit their needs.
“People have been contacting me and wishing us good thoughts and offering to help in any way they can,” Giamportone says. “Now I am excited to be in the new place, because I can see the potential in this building and what we want to create.”
The new restaurant will be similar in concept to Asador Del Sur, but she wanted a new name to represent a fresh start. “The way things ended with Asador Del Sur, I didn’t want to bring that same [energy] to a new place,” Giamportone says. “It was horrible and heartbreaking, and it took me a long time to get here because I wasn’t sure I could go through that sort of heartbreak again.” Guests can expect a similar menu, however, based on what products are available. The owners also plan to expand their tasting menu capabilities in the new space.
The biggest change, Giamportone says, will be the cultural offerings in the upstairs space, possibly including dance lessons, classes, and special events.
“The Maplewood restaurant was also two floors, but it was much smaller, and we had to use the upstairs for dining space,” Giamportone says. “The new building has a larger first floor, so we can have the main dining room there and turn the upstairs into a lounge and event space.”
Giamportone is also excited that the new building has a large parking lot. Not only will it provide parking, but it will also lend itself to outdoor seating and special events in the lot.
The Backstory
After finding success as owners of a commercial cleaning company in Miami, Giamportone and Gonzalez decided to try their hand at the restaurant business. Natives of Ecuador and Uruguay, respectively, the pair was looking to bring a taste of their heritage to the United States and initially envisioned that they would do so in their adopted home of Miami. Family in St. Louis, however, coaxed them into considering the Midwest instead, noting the lack of South American restaurants in town. After a scouting trip, they fell in love with St. Louis and decided that it was indeed the right place for them to open Asador Del Sur, a steak and seafood grill located along Maplewood’s main business district that served its first guests in August 2020.
The restaurant garnered instant acclaim for its spectacular grilled meats and seafood, lobster bisque, delectable chimichurri sauce, and South America-inflected beverage program.
That success turned to devastation, however, when an evening fire ripped through the building last August. While no one was injured in the blaze, the fire destroyed both floors of the restaurant, forcing Giamportone and Gonzalez to close up shop and figure out a way to move forward, whether that meant reopening or giving up on their restaurant dreams.
“I never imagined something like this would happen to me. I was in shock for a long time,” Giamportone says. “It was like losing someone. I missed the restaurant, but I wasn’t sure I could go through that again.”
Despite feeling so overwhelmed and heartbroken, Giamportone ultimately realized how much she missed the restaurant. An outpouring from guests and the community gave her the support that she needed to rebuild.
“Everyone was so helpful to me when we were new here and just starting out, and now that we know people, we feel even more supported,” Giamportone says. “The people and restaurant owners and community really pushed me when I was in doubt, and I know that they have my back. It made me feel like I could put my heart out there again.”
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