The downtown Robust Wine Bar location closes

The Robust Wine Bar location at 635 Washington Ave. in the Mercantile Exchange will be closing its doors for good this weekend. The restaurant opened in late 2012 and, according to co-owner Arlene Maminta Browne, the final day of service will be Saturday, April 28.

The reason for the closure is financial. “Basically, convention business and tourism is down,” Maminta Browne said, adding that it’s been on the decline for a while. “We really wanted to stay and were really proud to be part of downtown, but we couldn’t continue.”

The owners plan to concentrate on the original Robust location in Webster Groves and the company’s other restaurant, Snax Gastrobar, in Lindenwood Park.

Matt Sorrell is staff writer at Sauce Magazine.