Listen Now: ‘Arch Eats’: Ben Poremba’s big plans for 2024
Restaurateur Ben Poremba, owner of Bengelina Hospitality Group, recently announced that three of his restaurants—Elaia, Olio, and Nixta—will be moving next year from their current locations in Botanical Heights to the Delmar Maker District, a budding area along Delmar between Union and Kingshighway, which will also include another restaurant concept from Poremba.
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The Restaurants
Next February, Poremba plans to open an as-yet-unannounced restaurant along Delmar, a project that “can be done quickly and provide an additional revenue stream while the other restaurant moves are taking place,” he says. The concept will feature floor-to-ceiling windows and a heated/covered patio. “The space might be ready sooner,” Poremba says, “but we won’t be ready for it.”
Olio, Elaia, and Nixta will all close simultaneously on December 31, Poremba says, and it will take a month to “undo and save” components from all three restaurants. (The only operational change to date involves Elaia, which will host ticketed wine dinners every week, Wednesday through Saturday, until the end of the year.)
Then, next March, Nixta is slated to open within Maker’s Locale, a new multi-use facility at 5232 Delmar (rendering below) that boasts multiple dining and drink options, a shared 8,000-square-foot patio and beer garden, and the ability to host events and live music. With Alpha Brewing Company as the hub, the complex also includes a second location of Steve’s Hot Dogs, and The Fountain Off Locust, a spinoff of The Fountain on Locust.
The future locations for Olio and Elaia have been selected and will be announced at a later date. Poremba was mum on the details but compared it to “creating a campus including several buildings,” similar to the flagship site in Botanical Heights. The kitchen equipment at Olio will be enhanced, including a charcoal grill, to allow for more entrées, including skewers and grilled meats. Elaia will continue to offer a four-course, pre-fixe dinner or tasting menu, with a few options. “Same menu format, 24-seats as before, but with an added rooftop for cocktail hour or private events,” he says. “The new project will take a year to complete, so a summer 2024 opening is realistic.”
The Backstory
Poremba, whose latest venture is Deli Divine, a New York–style Jewish deli and market in the nearby Delmar DivINe, was sitting in Brew Tulum one day this summer when Doug Auer approached him. Six years earlier, Auer and Jim McKelvey, co-founders of Third Degree Glass Factory, envisioned the Delmar Maker District, a half-mile stretch of Delmar between Union and Kingshighway that’s composed of “artisans, designers, makers, and entrepreneurs of all walks of life,” according to its website. Today, the area includes Third Degree, Craft Alliance, MADE Makerspace, MADE for Kids, Brew Tulum, and Maker’s Locale, a new multi-use facility at 5232 Delmar that will include the aforementioned brew pub and restaurants.
Auer asked Poremba whether he had any interest in doing a new project in the Delmar Maker District. “We walked the neighborhood, and he told me about his long-term plans for it,” Poremba recalls. “That was how the whole thing started—completely serendipitously—and the timing was perfect. It was the same feeling I had in Botanical Heights, but this time I’m in a position to do more and do it quickly. I remember telling him, ‘You just met the right guy, buddy.’”
Poremba compares the project to what he envisioned 12 years ago in a previously dilapidated area known as McRee Town. His thought was to renovate the corner of McRee and Tower Grove Avenue by opening several restaurants and a bakery, which resulted in Elaia, Olio, Nixta, and La Pâtisserie Chouquette, which he helped open along with pastry chef Simone Faure. Two other notable restaurants, Union Loafers and indo, opened on the same corner. There are also several retail shops, including children’s store Honeycomb and AO&Co., another Bengelina project that includes a market, café, espresso bar, tobacconist, and specialty shop. Along the way, the neighborhood received a sunny new moniker, Botanical Heights. “I’m not going to take all of the credit, but having some density of business drove a major change on our corner,” Poremba says. “The developers knew that if you’re building housing, it’s a good idea to have some great restaurants and a bakery within walking distance.”
Over the weekend, Poremba sent out a statement that read, in part, “I am thrilled to announce that the Delmar Maker District will become a new home for us where we will once again get the opportunity to help shape and transform the community around us… I get to rebuild this the way it should be built, and I get to come to a new neighborhood and do this all over again.”
Regarding the departure from Botanical Heights, Poremba says his 10-year lease was expiring. “I tried my best to keep things as they are and either buy the buildings or re-lease the properties for a reasonable amount,” he says, “but sometimes you’re left with no choice than to walk away.”
The Olio and Elaia property is currently listed for sale or lease, according to Kevin Shapiro, executive vice president for Location CRE.
“I’m sentimental about the buildings, especially since moving is a hard thing to do,” says Poremba. “Since I still own two businesses there, I want the area to continue to be strong, so I hope tenants are found that can make that happen.”
Editor’s note: This article has been changed from its original version.
