‘Tis the season to ring out the old and ring in the new—and restaurants are no exception.
One of the city’s shining stars—J McArthur’s An American Kitchen—will close after service on New Year’s Eve, and a new concept from the owners of Robust will take its place.
Located at 3500 Watson Road in the Lindenwood Park neighborhood, J McArthur’s opened in summer 2015 to critical acclaim, garnering a three-star review from St. Louis Post-Dispatch dining critic Ian Froeb, who called the restaurant “one of the year’s best.” SLM dining critic Dave Lowry was impressed that “salt and pepper aren’t on the tables—the sign of a kitchen that’s confident in its wares”; in his year-end wrap-up, he called McArthur’s the “Best Locally Sourced Place that Doesn’t Make a Big, Self-Satisfied Deal About It.”
With all of the accolades, owners Kathleen Bibbins and John McArthur became proud owners, and their son, co-owner and chef Ben McArthur, became a household name.
That’s why it came as a surprise when Ben announced earlier this year that he would be pursuing other interests, leaving at the height of the proverbial party. In the end, Bibbins admitted that the chef was the hub of the J McArthur’s wheel.
“It was built for him," she said. "It was named after his dad, and the intent was for it to be a family business.” She added that it was never the family’s intent to run the restaurant without him, so it made sense to turn the building over to skilled operators.
Enter Stanley and Arlene Browne, owners of Robust in Webster Groves and downtown, who have a longstanding personal and financial relationship with the McArthurs. Bibbins said they were “the logical choice,” even before the group started talking about different concepts.
A social-media maven and one of the city’s best restaurant marketers, Arlene says she and her husband had been looking for opportunities for new concepts after closing the Robust location in Edwardsville, Illinois, last year.
While details on the new project are still under wraps, Arlene said that the 4,000-square-foot, 120-seat space (with 45 seats inside and 75 on two patios) will be different than both McArthur's and Robust but "within our wheelhouse"—and that it will be the first of several projects 'by Robust' that the Brownes have planned for the year ahead.
The retrofit will begin soon after J McArthur’s final service, on December 31.
