Courtesy of Baileys' Restaurants
Courtesy of Baileys' Restaurants
The Gloria Burger at Baileys’ Range, featured during the Blues' Stanley Cup playoffs run, featured a triple beef hat trick of patties topped with blue and yellow cheese, fried pickle pucks, and "Baconmir Taramayo" spread
Restaurateurs Dave and Kara Bailey recently announced on Facebook that the flagship Baileys’ Range (920 Olive) in downtown St. Louis will close at month’s end. Until then, the restaurant will be open for dinner service only. The last service will be this Thursday, August 31.
SLM once described as “a gourmet burger-and-milkshake joint where rural-meets-industrial-meets-creative”—opened in late 2011, the month that the Cardinals won the World Series. Above a 40-seat communal table hung “chandeliers” fashioned from two-handled milk jugs. Different shaped windows (some from the Baileys’ home) segregated the open scratch kitchen, which turned out 18 flavors of ice cream, plus myriad burger options on homemade buns served with homemade condiments.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
The social media post announcing the closure noted that “Baileys’ Range downtown saw the birth of Dave & Kara’s first child (she was born the week we opened!), the Cardinals World Series win in 2011, countless conventions, tons of beautiful redevelopment, charming visitors, and so much more. It is bittersweet to leave but we are excited about focusing all of our efforts on our newly rehabbed Range,” referring to the sister restaurant that opened just over a year ago in a former service station at 4175 Shaw.
Over the downtown restaurant's 12-year-run, the business level ebbed and flowed due to a variety of reasons, says Dave. When the pandemic hit—and being somewhat lunch business–dependent—it was the last of the Baileys' restaurants to reopen and was never able to regain its pre-pandemic volume, he adds. “It dipped into sales territory that wasn’t worth maintaining,” Bailey says. “There is forward momentum, even though when you close a location, it appears you’re moving backward... Since Bailey’s Range on Shaw opened and is doing well, I’m happy to let it represent the brand. Twelve years is not a shabby run, but the plan moving forward is to refresh the building—as in pause, re-do, reconcept. Things change and will continue to change.”
Dave says he’s not ready to pull the trigger on something new in the downtown space just yet. “Right now, our focus will be on our other downtown concepts," he says, referring to the Baileys' other businesses listed below.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Kara and Dave Bailey
When SLM interviewed the Baileys four years ago, we asked, “How many more concepts do you have in your head, and how many will become a reality?” At the time, Kara replied, “That’s an animal we’re still trying to tame.” Dave added that "the number’s dwindling" and “there are only a few left that that we haven’t already done." While all of Baileys’ restaurants have been within the St. Louis City limits, he noted, “going somewhere besides the city was not off the table.”
Today, Dave adds, "Come spring and summer, we’ll come back with additional Roosters and something that has the robust appeal that Rooster does." He notes that the above sentiments remain true, though “we’re focusing on Rooster first—specifics to follow.”
The Range of Baileys' Restaurants
Over the past 20 years, Dave and Kara Bailey have opened a wide range of restaurants and event spaces, all of them located within the city limits of St. Louis:
Baileys' Chocolate Bar (1915 Park): Now occupying the second floor above champagne-themed POP!, the award-winning flagship restaurant in Lafayette Square continues to offer small plates, decadent desserts, and signature chocolate martinis. “People still really love the place,” Dave says. “The product mix hasn’t changed that much, but there are always fun things to try. The lover’s plates are selling well, since we’re now seeing more two-tops than groups.”
Baileys' Range (4175 Shaw): Like the flagship, the remaining Range location specializes in made-from-scratch burgers, fries, and milkshakes. In the Shaw neighborhood, a renovated former service station serves as the backdrop for spirited décor and a large patio. “’Summer vibes’ has always been the theme,” Dave says, “but we’re introducing seasonal cocktails in addition to the boozy lemonades, teas, and shakes. We’re still using the Civil Life beer bun and making all the sauces, so the burger program is unchanged.”
Photo by Pat Eby
Baileys' Range on Shaw
Bridge Tap House & Wine Bar (1004 Locust): At the downtown restaurant, due to the influence of sommelier Daniele Zeviagos, the wine menu has expanded in recent months, while craft beer and shared plates are the other main cogs in the wheel.
Pop (1915 Park): In 2019, the Baileys’ pulled off something truly amazing: changing concepts in the middle of dinner service. Those in attendance the night that the former L’Acadiane space was transformed to POP sparkling wine bar and restaurant will never forget it. “People love sparkling wine. What can I say?” says Dave. When the weather cooperates, the two-level, 42-seat back porch makes for a memorable evening.
Rooster (1025 Washington, 3150 S. Grand): Specializing in sweet and savory crepes and breakfast fare, the downtown restaurant moved into more spacious digs inside the former Dubliner location in late 2021— and it's since surpassed pre-pandemic volume, Dave says. The second floor is currently being converted into a buffet/private event room, while the South Grand location is “fine, steady as she goes.”
Slate (1015 Locust): Across the street from Willow event space downtown, Slate offers a customizable, blank-slate footprint that can accommodate 125 (seated) or 175 (cocktail-style). “Oftentimes, Slate is used for the wedding ceremony or the pre-party cocktail area, and guests then move across to Willow for the reception or the main event,” Dave says.
Small Batch (3001 Locust): The menu has migrated from vegetarian to “99 percent vegan, which was based on customer feedback, so vegans no longer have to modify the existing choices," says Dave. "The cocktail menu is changing more frequently, so there’s more seasonality. Maintaining a certain number of spirits is just as significant as the whiskey offerings, but we still offer five flights of three whiskeys each, so there’s a lot of opportunity for new experiences there.”
Willow (321 N. 10th): Distinguished by its tall windows, branch chandeliers, and seating on two floors, Willow event space downtown can accommodate 225 guests (seated) or 300 (cocktail-style).
Ghost kitchen pop-ups: During and after the pandemic, concepts included Knockout BBQ, Wing Ding Dong, hot dog-focused Playing Ketchup, and, most recently, What the Cluck?, a weekends-only fried chicken affair held on the mezzanine of Baileys’ Range downtown.
