In a surprise announcement, longtime Webster Groves bar and grill C.J. Muggs closed last night, after more than 30 years on the corner of Lockwood and Gore (C.J. Mugg’s Clayton location remains open.) The silver lining is that two restaurant couples—Stanley and Arlene Browne of Robust Bistro & Wine Bar and Frank Romano and Laura Burns of The Parkmoor Drive-In—have taken over the space and announced the forthcoming arrival of Madrina, a “modern classic” Italian restaurant slated to bow in late October.
The Concept
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Madrina (“godmother” in Italian) will offer a contemporary take on the classic Italian-American restaurants of the mid-20th century, according to managing partners Frank Romano and Stanley Browne, two longtime renowned restaurateurs. Browne is a certified sommelier and owner-operator of Robust Bistro & Wine Bar; Romano (who was GM at Robust for eight years) currently owns The Parkmoor Drive-In. Both restaurants are located in Webster Groves within walking distance of Madrina.
Romano, who’s wanted to open an Italian restaurant since his first job working at the legendary Kemoll’s, will be responsible for the initial food menu. Browne will handle the wine and beverage program. The two will collaborate on the service component.
Romano says that Madrina will be a true Italian-American restaurant that taps the culinary heritage of both countries. Browne’s complementary contribution is a 100 percent Italian and American wine list that he plans to present in a user-friendly way.
The duo hope to cast a wide net by offering items in the everyday price range, such as pasta and flatbread pizza, “that slowly ramp up to a Bistecca alla Fiorentina and a bottle of Amarone for the party who wants to splurge,” says Romano.
The Menu
Diners at Madrina can expect old-school classics, such as veal chop Milanese, linguine con vongole, fried artichokes, and primal cuts instead of short cuts. “When was the last time you were served a free-range, pan-roasted half chicken Marsala-style?” Romano asks. “I prefer the full-on classic treatment, before the world resorted to boneless/skinless.”
Also on the menu will be some riffs on classics and “fresh seafood with some character,” such as halibut saltimbocca. Look for veal ravioli with rosemary sweet peppers and natural demiglace, as well as calzone Romano, a flaky pastry shell stuffed with prosciutto, salame, Italian sausage, and cheese, where the only red sauce is served on the side.
The menu might have Madrino’s version of a carpaccio di crostini or perhaps a spiedini made with cured meats ground into a farce with house-made cheese bread crumbs and grilled (“not the kind that’s served on a stick,” Romano quips). Or fire-roasted Illinois bobwhite quail stuffed with Italian sausage. As Romano describes it, “What is that? kind of stuff—mind-blowing stuff. Things that we’d expect to see in an Italian-American restaurant, not a regional Italian restaurant.”
Romano has wanted to open a restaurant for the past 30 years, so his playbook is crammed full of similar recipes: a fire-roasted portabella mushroom with a Marsala-gorgonzola bechamel, baked ricotta ravioli with beef short rib ragu, Italian cream cake, a secret-recipe tiramisu… “And we will have toasted ravioli,” Romano says, “but the riff has yet to be determined.”
The chef, general manager, and front-of-house staff is also yet to be determined. “We just closed on the project this morning,” Romano says. “We didn’t want to start looking for people and begin building a team before the deal was done. Now we can move forward.”
The partners say they will examine the viability of finishing some dishes tableside and execute that level of service on an everyday basis. “If we’re going to put on a show, then the show has to play—and play well—every night,” Romano says. “We hope to put a band of friends and former staffers back together who were trained to do that, who miss doing that. That’s our challenge, to find people schooled in the art of hospitality who really care about what they are doing. To them, a restaurant is not just a job; it’s an extension of themselves.”
The wine focus at Madrina will be strictly Italian and American bottles, according to Browne, who hopes to place the 70 offerings side by side on a single sheet, with Italian wines on the left (from lightest to fullest body) and their American equivalents mirrored on the right. “If you like this American style wine, then the Italian equivalent is right there,” he says. “People are more hesitant to try Italian wines because of the unfamiliarity,” he adds, but because of his 10-year stint as a wine rep for Bommarito Wines and the way that Madrina’s list is laid out, he hopes to nudge that needle. Rounding out the beverage list are Italian-themed cocktails, apertivos, Aperol and Limoncello Spritzes, beers, espressos, and affogatos.
The Atmosphere
The 5,000-square-foot, 150-seat space is roughly divided into three sections: the bar proper, the surrounding bar room (delineated by a half wall), and a quieter wraparound main dining area.
“I see the more casual area in the front transitioning to quieter, finer dining space in the back,” Browne says, adding that guests can expect a combination of traditional tables, banquette seating, small booths, and a few “gangster” booths. No structural changes are planned. In addition, a 50-seat private event space with a full bar is down a flight of stairs, “a hidden treasure,” according to Romano.
Helen Lee, principal at Tao + Lee Architects, the company in charge of design at Madrina, shared her vision. “Madrina is a modern interpretation of the classic Italian-American restaurants of the midcentury where delicious, exceptionally well-prepared food are served in a setting that is simultaneously elegant, comfortable, and unpretentious,” she writes. “We are inspired by the feel of the Godfather and the richness of New York classic Italian restaurants from the ’50s.”
The Backstory
Before starting Robust Wine Bar in 2007 with his wife, Arlene, Stanley Browne was a longtime wine sales rep in St. Louis. Ironically, Romano met Browne when Romano was working his first job, at Kemoll’s at age 15. “And it was my godmother—my madrina—who introduced me to Kemoll’s owner, Mark Cusumano who gave me the job,” he says.
Romano’s impressive resume includes Piccolo’s, Truffles, Jazz at the Bistro, An American Place, Miso on Meramec, Araka, BaiKu, Truimph Grill, Angad Hotel, and Robust, where he served as GM for eight years. Romano then tackled The Parkmoor—a longtime St. Louis institution that he had patronized since his youth—and in 2020, opened his reinvention in Webster Groves, two blocks from C. J. Mugg’s.
Mugg’s had changed hands in January 2023 and, according to Romano, the new owner decided to sell the business rather than change the name and the concept. The broker’s agent, a friend of Browne’s, approached Romano and Browne to see if they were interested.
“It didn’t make sense to us to move The Parkmoor or Robust,” Romano says. “If we did something, it had to be something else.” Romano’s wife Laura, took a look at the building and immediately thought ‘old-school Italian,’ Frank says, and he and Browne looked into it. “When Laura came up with the name madrina, it all fell into place.”
