Even an aging set of rock-concert-impaired ears could not miss the clatter of jackhammers, working over the ground floor of the buff-colored brick building at Jackson and Pershing in U. City (the former Bici Café at 7401 Pershing). The rumors of a new restaurant coming to that corner were solidified by the RFT back in October, but demolition did not commence until this week.
Chef, owner, and native St. Louisan Steve Cupp will open Perjax, Oyster House and Restaurant, “hopefully by late January,” he said. Cupp understands the vagaries of the restaurant business as he’s owned several: three iterations of the legendary and critically-acclaimed Glenn’s Café (two of them in Columbia, Mo.), as well as Savoy Chophouse & Oyster Bar, also in Columbia.
The name is a portmanteau of the location; the cuisine, according to Cupp, is similar to the fare he served at Glenn’s, comfort food from “the South and Southwest, as well as the Caribbean.” Cupp says 50% of the menu will be comfort food standards, and the other half will be a more adventuresome rotating mix of items, allowing the 61-year-old chef to tinker with local ingredients. “Above all, I want the place to be low key and unpretentious,” he said, “with a menu that plays to the neighborhood but keeps the foodies talking.” To appease both groups: the majority of entrees will be priced in the teens.
As of this morning, the two-tiered dining room has been leveled out and a side door (to a private dining room) is being closed off, producing a more cohesive area seating 90. A 12-seat oyster bar—with an active shucking station—is being built in the footprint of Bici’s former bar. Six-person booth seating will flank one wall and a banquette will run the length of the other, with a large central table mid-room.
One of the more appealing aspects of the address—a charming sidewalk patio—is being refurbished. Come springtime, diners can expect to be welcomed by trees blossoming overhead, soft lighting, and a bank of new planters.
Cupp, a Ferguson native, said he was happy to return to St. Louis. “It only took me 43 years,” he grinned, “but now I’m back.”
Follow George on Twitter @stlmag_dining or send him an email at gmahe@stlmag.com. For more from St. Louis Magazine, subscribe or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
