These days, you can’t fault a restaurant operator for wanting to play it safe, and there’s nothing safer than cheeseburgers, fries, and root beer, according to Alan Richman, who owns three wine bars (both Sasha’s and Scarlett’s) as well as Barrio at 740 DeMun in Clayton.
Many St. Louisans remember the corner building with the clever flip-up windows as the birthplace of DeMun Oyster Bar, which became renowned for its super fresh selection of oysters from all coasts (when it opened in 2011, SLM dubbed it “the pearl of the neighborhood”). In early 2018, due to rising seafood costs and the impracticality of shipping small orders of oysters almost daily, the Oyster Bar became Barrio, featuring a small menu of inexpensive, sharable Mexican food. Barrio closed in August of last year and has been vacant since then.
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Several operators expressed interest in the space, but Richman, who at one time had a partial ownership in Fitz’s, decided to take on the project himself. “We’re going to keep it real simple to start,” he told SLM, with a menu consisting of hamburgers and cheeseburgers, one Impossible burger, fries, Fitz’s sodas, floats, “and maybe an adult float with rum like we used to serve at Fitz’s.” Beer and wine will be available as well, and alas, the TVs will get turned on as soon as sports programming resumes.
The exterior is being repainted in anticipation of its June 19 opening, just prior to Father’s Day, and the patio is being readied for what is expected to be a busy summer season.
This story is developing and will be updated.
