This year has been one of change for Ben Poremba. There’s been the temporary closure of his popular restaurants Elaia, Olio and Nixta, which he is relocating to the Delmar Maker District. There’s a forthcoming relaunch of Bar Limon. And all of it comes on the heels of his two new concepts, Esca and Florentin, which opened in March and June, respectively.
This morning, Poremba announced the latest change for Bengelina Hospitality Group: The Benevolent King (7268 Manchester), his Moroccan cuisine-turned-Japanese fare restaurant in Maplewood, has closed. Poremba announced the news in an Instagram post this morning. He cited its inability to bounce back after the pandemic, despite his team’s efforts.
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“We had high hopes; we refreshed the interior, brought in an incredibly talented team of professionals for both front and back of house, and reopened in late 2021,” Poremba said in the statement. “The reviews were terrific. The Japanese themed ‘pop-ups’ were so popular that we pivoted and transformed the King to a modern Japanese concept restaurant and again the feedback was positive. And yet, the business never fully rebounded.”
Poremba opened The Benevolent King in 2018 as an homage to his mother’s Moroccan heritage. Her presence and that aspect of his upbringing was present in every part of the experience, and it gave the restaurant a deeply personal feel, evoking memories of his childhood in Israel, where he would stand alongside his mom in their kitchen, rolling the same briouat, chicken-filled Moroccan cigars that he served at The Benevolent King.
The pandemic was utterly devastating for The Benevolent King, though. After the restaurant closed for roughly a year-and-a-half, Poremba reopened it and brought on chef Eliott Harris to oversee the kitchen. Harris—whose culinary resume includes the former Miso on Meramec, sushi consulting for the now-shuttered Central Table Food Hall, sushi-centric food truck Chop Shop STL, and BaiKu Sushi Lounge—executed the restaurant’s North African menu but also was given the opportunity to showcase his passion for Japanese cuisine through occasional pop-ups at The Benevolent King. Those proved to be so popular that Poremba decided to let Harris convert the restaurant into a Japanese-inspired concept this past February. Harris’ food was well-received; customers enjoyed the stunning hand rolls, gorgeous crudos and nigiri, and luscious uni shooters. The pivot ultimately wasn’t enough to turn the tide, though.
Reached for comment, Poremba admits that he is disappointed by the closure but feels that it was simply time to let go. “I have no regrets whatsoever,” he tells SLM. “I owed it to my staff and to Maplewood to try to give it whatever we had with whatever means I had. Everything has an expiration date. We exhausted all efforts, and unfortunately, it ended a little more prematurely than I had hoped, but that’s what it is.”
In addition to the restaurant closure, Poremba announced that he is relocating his commissary from Cherokee Street to Delmar. Both The Benevolent King and the commissary will be available for purchase in the coming weeks.
All is not lost for fans of The Benevolent King’s Moroccan fare, though: Poremba notes that his mother, who inspired so much of the restaurant’s food and even cooked many of its pastry-oriented delicacies, is still a part of the Bengelina family of restaurant operations.
“Mom is responsible for all of the cookies, and she makes the truffles and meringue for the pavlova at Esca,” says Poremba. “I call her our part-time dessert chef. Just like she always has, she’s baking scones, banana bread, and muffins you can find at Esca, AO&CO, Deli Divine, and Florentin.”
In this sense, he says, a piece of The Benevolent King will live on.
