Remy’s Kitchen & Wine Bar closing at end of year

There are restaurants that live on forever, old saws that you can count on for consistent food and service, stalwarts that come through time and again when you’ve been disappointed by the trendiest and buzziest joints in town.

For many of us, Remy’s Kitchen & Wine Bar was one of those places. That’s why the news of its imminent closing came as such a surprise.

For the past 23 years, Remy’s (named after owner Tim Mallett’s son Remington) has been a standout on Clayton’s always-formidable dining scene. For the majority of that time, the kitchen was helmed by indomitable Lisa Slay, who always had a special in store for even the regulars. The small-plates menu was extensive and impressive; the wine list was long, constantly changing, and a frequent recipient of awards from Wine Spectator. Remy’s was one of the first places to popularize wine flights and the first place (that we know of) to name its 4:30–6 p.m. time slot “ecstatic hour,” skirting the then-taboo use of the phrase “happy hour.”  

Remy’s was one of a decreasing number of establishments in town where one could order a glass of wine at the bar and converse without shouting, where table conversation doesn’t require craning or straining.

So why couldn’t a place like this stick around for, like, ever?

There were several reasons, according to Mallett. The clientele had always been a mix of old and young, but this year especially, the younger crowd was noticeably absent, opting perhaps for the newer restaurant addresses in Clayton. Restaurant veterans like Mallett know that when margins are already razor thin, a 5 to 10 percent decrease in sales can be catastrophic.

“That’s pretty much how it came down in 2017, and I didn’t see the picture improving next year,” he says. “Clayton has gotten very busy and competitive. It’s difficult to come back from a down year.”

Mallett also noted that certain Clayton streets’ popularity can fluctuate based on how many new places open along it. “If one place is busy, the diner can go right next door or up the street,” he says, “instead of getting in their car and driving somewhere else.” (Interestingly, business was up this year at Big Sky Café, which Mallett also owns, perhaps because Webster Groves did not experience the same level of restaurant growth that Clayton saw, according to Mallett.)

“We’ve done everything right here [at Remy’s] for a long, long time,” he says, “and I want to go out on a high note. The last thing I want is for people to say, ‘‘Yeah, they should have closed that place five years ago.”’

Remy’s last night of service will be December 31.