The dining community was dealt a hard blow Wednesday when Reeds American Table announced it would be shuttering its restaurant on Manchester in Maplewood.
Reeds' Facebook post read: “It is with a heavy heart that I must write and announce our decision to close Reeds American Table. Our last service will be held this upcoming July 3rd. It was an extremely difficult decision to make but one that unfortunately had to happen.”
The restaurant, which opened in September of 2015 by chef/owner Matt Daughaday, was, to put it mildly, “highly anticipated” after Daughaday announced in 2014 he would be leaving his position as chef at Gerard Craft’s cocktail and small plates restaurant Taste.
Daughaday, a native of University City, began his culinary career cooking for Marc Del Pietro at Luciano’s Trattoria in Clayton. From there, he was asked by Del Pietro to run a breakfast and lunch café for two years before biting the bullet and making the move to San Francisco to attend The California Culinary Academy. It was when he decided to apply for an externship back in St. Louis with Craft at Niche that he started to build the foundation that would lead him to ultimately open his own restaurant. Daughaday spent three years as the executive chef at Taste in the Central West End before opening Reeds American Table.
There was little time for Daughaday and his team to “settle in” before the accolades and praise started coming in. Reeds was the restaurant everyone boasted about recently eating at, and local Instagram accounts preened with too-close pictures of braised beef cheek, pork belly with kimchi, bacon fat cornbread, and a burger that would make your father cry.
Reeds made St. Louis Magazine's list of Best Restaurants in 2017 and in 2018 made the list as a “Best New Classic." National attention would follow, including Reeds being featured as a must-visit St. Louis dining destination by Thrillist.
Reeds was a powerhouse, combining some of the best in the restaurant industry under one roof. This speaks both to Daughaday’s reputation as not only a talented chef, but his appeal as a boss. Not only did Reeds have experts in wine, but they also had Richard Vagnino, a craft cocktail mixologist; David Schroeder, a certified cicerone; and coffee expert Zach Althaus. Summer Wright, formerly of Five Bistro and Brasserie, would become Reeds' pastry chef.
Of his “dream team,” as Daughaday called it, the one that gained Reeds the most national attention may have been the acquisition of Andrey Ivanov as the beverage director. Ivanov was the most credentialed wine professional in St. Louis and was, at that time, an Advanced Sommelier. He left Elaia and Olio to join Daughaday. Ivanov chose Certified Sommelier Alisha Blackwell Calvert to bring on board his team at Reeds as sommelier. Ivanov, who later earned his Master Sommelier title, became known for his eclectic and global wine list. Both the list and Ivanov’s ability to introduce guests to try new and unique wines earned Reeds a place on Wine Enthusiast’s “New and Noteworthy” list in 2016. The restaurant also made Wine Enthusiast's list of “America’s 100 Best New Restaurants” in both 2017 and 2018.
The Facebook announcement closed on a hopeful, while bittersweet, note: “We have all grown individually and as a team and look forward to continuing to serve the St. Louis dining scene in one of the many amazing places that this city has to offer. So, it is not good bye, just till next time, and we cannot thank you all enough for the opportunity we have had with this restaurant.”
