Kevin A. Roberts
It was an unusual morning.
With less than 24 hours notice, local food writers were summoned to Niche restaurant in Clayton at 10 a.m. today for “some significant news about the restaurant.”
Alas, chef-owner Gerard Craft (pictured above) announced that his flagship restaurant will close on June 11, after nearly an 11-year run.
Craft opened the original Niche in Benton Park in 2005. He reminisced in this Q&A: "There were a lot of young owner-chefs settling here, and I could tell something good was happening. We showed up, signed some papers, and it was done. I wouldn’t have done the same today. But I was 25 and impulsive." In 2012 (in what was blockbuster news at the time), Craft moved the restaurant to Clayton.
In four to six weeks, Niche will reopen as Sardella, a casual, modern Italian restaurant that will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a full-service setting (as opposed to the trendy fast-casual).
Niche is known for its adherence to hyper-regional cuisine, which Craft admitted was confining (local fish was limited to trout…“and trout,” quipped Chris Kelling, general manager of both Niche and Pastaria who will oversee Sardella as well. Nick Blue will continue to lead the kitchen, and his wife, Sarah, will remain as its executive pastry chef.
Kevin A. Roberts
A Missouri trout dish at Niche
Reconcepting into the less stringent and structured Sardella will give Craft and crew the freedom to source not only different types of fish, but also the flexibility to deal with more local vendors, which means cooking with more local chocolate, local beer, and local coffee—“things we were never able to really do before,” as Craft put it.
Niche is largely considered the metro region’s most cutting-edge restaurant and has been for some time. It took top honors on St. Louis Post-Dispatch restaurant critic Ian Froeb’s Top 100 Restaurants for two years in a row, and Craft won the city’s first James Beard award for "Best Chef: Midwest" in 2015.
“That’s how I want to remember Niche,” Craft said, "at its peak.”
The chef said he’d toyed with closing the restaurant many times over the years, “especially during the [2008] recession,” but that it felt right to move on at this point, rather than wait for the next recession, “when we might not be able to afford to pay people.”
It was a morning of reflection and honesty. “While trying not to sound egotistical, being at the top is a really tough place to be sometimes,” Craft said. “Getting there can be exhilarating, but staying there can be excruciating… We want to be in a place where it’s fun again."
Niche is a labor-intensive restaurant, with a staff of seven to eight chefs working in unison during nightly service. Combine that with a move to the higher-rent space in Clayton and the fact that it was a special-occasion restaurant—considerations that made some people wonder how sustainable it could be over time.
Craft’s more recent restaurants are successful examples of the casual, everyday style of restaurant that today’s diner—which includes Craft’s staff—seems to prefer.
“Selfishly, we like to open restaurants that we want to go to,” Craft said, referring to Brasserie, Pastaria, and Porano. Then the kicker: "Sadly, none of us wanted to go to Niche.”
Sardella (which takes its name from an old-world Italian fish sauce) will be the next chapter in Craft’s go-to book—“innovative and interesting and fun,” the chef said, “but casual, with dishes that reflect our creativity but won’t feel forced.” And despite the Italian name, Sardella will not compete with pasta-and-pizza based Pastaria next door (and with which it shares a hallway). Craft says the next the fare will be American with Italian nuances, with an emphasis on salads, sandwiches, and smoked meats, like a slow roasted pork shoulder accompanied by a few side dishes. Small plates will be priced in the teens, with entrees about $10 higher.
Craft also mentioned the need for a healthy, satisfying breakfast option, a niche that he hopes Sardella will fill, featuring items like ‘grain bowls,’ a personal favorite he hopes to convince others to try.
Sasha Aleksandr Malinich, the architect responsible for the original Niche and Porano, will design the new space. The bar will be larger, allowing for a better beer and drink program, and the existing banquette will become curved, which Craft said should make the space more intimate.
“This past year was the best that we’ve ever had in our 10-year history," Craft said, "so I want this next week to be a celebration."
We saluted Craft and his flagship restaurant after he won the James Beard award last year (below) and we do the same today.
