On Tuesday, Start Bar announced it would be closed until further notice. "We are deeply saddened to announce we will be voluntarily closing our doors until further notice due to the current restrictions placed specifically on the bar and nightclub industry in St. Louis City," the downtown arcade bar noted on its Facebook page.
“We saw it coming,” says co-owner Stephen Savage, referring to current restrictions and a mandatory curfew at 11 p.m. for bars and nightclubs in the city. “Start Bar’s business is predominantly late night, so sales were practically nonexistent.”
Savage also co-owns The Wheelhouse and The Midwestern, located nearby along a two-block stretch of Spruce Street, just west of Busch Stadium. “All three of our businesses are really suffering," he says.
The decision comes after a mandatory shutdown in mid-March, a reopening in May, a citywide curfew in June, a voluntary shutdown of the establishments in late June, and the businesses reopening in July. Last month, after an Instagram video showed unmasked patrons at The Wheelhouse, the city ordered a 14-day shutdown. After a temporary reopening under additional restrictions, Savage now says the situation is untenable for Start Bar.
"It didn't help that Start Bar got shut down for two weeks because of a video taken at The Wheelhouse," Savage says. "There wasn't a video, that I'm aware of, that caused the city to shut down both venues. They are separate businesses with different licenses that unfortunately have the same address."
Savage says he proposed to the mayor that instead of a bar curfew, he would strictly enforce 50 percent occupancy at all venues, the same percentage required before 11 p.m. In addition, Savage said that tables are being placed on the dance floors at Start Bar and Wheelhouse to help curtail activity, and the music volume would be lowered. A three-page proposal also included posting additional safety signs and graphics. "We were also willing to be the mask police, for everyone in the facility," Savage said. "We never heard anything definitive back from the mayor."
In an email, Jacob Long, Director of Communications for the Mayor's Office, said that "It's my understanding that this business worked with our Health Department to approve plans to allow them to reopen after they were forced to close for ignoring COVID-19 regulations. Otherwise, they would not have been allowed to reopen. The 11 p.m. restriction applies to all bars in restaurants in the City, along with the 50% capacity rule, until at least September 7. That was implemented after they reopened. They now appear to be closing on their own accord."
Savage now says “leaving downtown and heading west,” where there are fewer restrictions, is a possibility. “We are running out of workable options where we are,” he said. “It's crucial that sense of normalcy gets restored. In the meantime, I have three businesses that are in danger of closing."
This article has been updated with comments from the Mayor's Office.
