Hamburger Mary’s Bar and Grille has finally opened its doors at 3037 Olive St., in Midtown Alley. The Scoop reported last April that the gay-friendly national burger chain would be coming to St. Louis. Initially, the restaurant was slated to open in June; the development of a parking lot adjacent to the property is partially responsible for the delay.

After a two-year absence, Sameem Afghan Restaurant is now serving up Afghan and Persian cuisine at its new home at 4341 Manchester Ave., in The Grove, as reported
by Ian Froeb of the Riverfront Times. Sameem was previously located on South Grand Boulevard, a location that owner Qayum Mohammad shuttered two years ago. Mohammad is also the owner of Kabob Palace at 14424 Manchester Road in Manchester.

Burger-centric food truck Taste-D-Burger should hit the streets next week, according to co-owner Dennis Miller. Look for Taste-D-Burger to serve hungry diners in St. Louis County. “It will be burgers, fries and drinks only,” said Miller regarding the menu. “It will be fast. Even if there is a big line, it will be fast.”

And finally, change is in the air at Harry’s Restaurant and Bar, located at 2144 Market St. As reported by Katie O’Connor for St. Louis Magazine, the longtime restaurant and bar is shaking things up with the addition of Horizon by Harry’s, a boutique nightclub and event space slated to launch in late February. A post on Horizon’s Facebook page explained the new concept: “Horizon was meticulously designed … to create a chic fantasy world and intimate getaway for those who are in the know and who truly appreciate the finer things in nightlife.” As for Harry’s Restaurant and Bar, the “restaurant” is no longer part of the name and the menu has taken the casual route, per Pieri.

Anheuser-Busch InBev president Dave Peacock is resigning, as reported by Advertising Age and St. Louis Business Journal yesterday. Peacock will be replaced by Luiz Edmond, who is currently the company’s North America zone president. Peacock was one of the last high-level execs still at the brewery since Belgium-based InBev took over the St. Louis based-A-B back in 2008. He will continue in an advisory role at the company.

Peacock’s departure comes in light of seven other A-B big wigs having left the brewery between 2009 and June 2011. Locally, we’ve also seen several former A-B employees move on to pursue other projects. In November, three longtime A-B higher-ups teamed up with William K. Busch  – son of August A. “Gussie Busch” and great grandson of Adolphus Busch  – to launch William K. Busch Brewing Co. (WKBBC). The company is attempting to go head-to-head against A-B InBev with its Kräftig Lager and Kräftig Light products. Partners at WKBBC who were formerly employed by A-B include CEO James Hoffmeister, COO Gary Prindiville and executive board member Michael Brooks.

Local craft brewery Urban Chestnut Brewing Co., established in summer 2010, is also the offspring of former A-B employees. Co-owner Florian Kuplent was a brewmaster for the beer giant while his partner, David Wolfe, worked in A-B’s marketing department for nearly two decades.

In late November, The Scoop reported that Brad Jureka was opening Bliss – a dessert bar – next to his downtown vodka bar, Shiver, on Washington Avenue. Today, Jureka told The Scoop that he hopes to have the late-night, sweets spot open by Valentine’s Day.

In addition, Jureka commented regarding Lotus, a bar/lounge that he is also involved with and that he hopes to open at 2001 Locust St., in the space previously occupied by El Borracho. Jureka noted that, while he would like to see Lotus open in April or May, his immediate focus is on securing the liquor license. Evan Benn of the Post-Dispatch reported last week that Courtney Severit, a co-owner of Lotus who is also involved with the launch of Bliss, had applied for a liquor license for Lotus.

Nearby support for the proposed bar is “looking very positive,” Jureka said. “We are five or six signatures away from getting the necessary [support].”

Jamie and Steve Komorek, owners of Italian restaurant Trattoria Marcella in South City at 3600 Watson Road, have announced plans to open a restaurant in West County. Construction is underway for the eatery, which will be located in the Ballwin Grove development on Clayton Road, west of Highway 141 in Ballwin. A late-May to mid-June opening is anticipated. While the name of the restaurant has yet to be announced, a press release noted that the name, as with Trattoria Marcella, will honor the Komoreks’ mother, Marcella.

According to Jamie Komorek, requests from patrons of Trattoria Marcella led to the decision to open a restaurant further west. “For years, our guests have asked us to open a place in West County,” he said. “The idea is to bring our style of Italian cooking closer to where many of our customers live.”

While details have yet to be provided regarding the food menu, patrons at the new restaurant can expect to see fine wines that are hard to find at other St. Louis-area restaurants. “The bar will be a central focus of the restaurant. We will serve personally selected, small-production wines from vineyards that offer value and integrity,” said Jamie Komorek.

Click here for all our coverage of Trattoria Marcella.

Jamie Komorek, Steve Komorek,

— Photo by Ashley Gieseking

Hot Aztec, a food truck featuring traditional Mexican fare, debuts this week. The family-owned mobile food operation was initially expected to hit the streets in late November or early December of last year, as first reported by George Mahe of St. Louis Magazine.

Hot Aztec will only serve lunch at first, according to co-owner Rob Gardaphe, who has been in the restaurant biz working with various national chains in St. Louis for more than 25 years. Gardaphe learned his culinary skills while cooking next to his grandmother in Mexico where he spent part of the year during his childhood. For his first food truck venture, he is teaming up with his wife, Dana Gardaphe, and his mother, a native of Mexico City.

Noontime customers can expect to find tacos, tortas and other traditional eats from central Mexico, including a bacon-wrapped hotdog topped with sauteed onions, jalapeños and Chihuahua cheese. Wait, can’t we call this fusion? Not according to Gardaphe, who first encountered the bacon-wrapped hotdog at an L.A. food truck before further research led him to discover that it was actually served in the 1950s at bullfights in Oaxaca, Mexico. When breakfast is served up starting in the spring, Hot Aztec patrons can expect breakfast-style tacos, scrambled egg chorizo, molletes (open-faced sandwiches) topped with beans and melted cheese, a selection of Mexican pastries and fresh fruit cups, along with Kaldi’s coffee.

Hot Aztec rolled onto the streets this past Monday to serve the Martin Luther King parade crowd. The Gardaphes expect to begin making regular rounds in the city by the end of this week and to fill St. Louis County bellies as soon as they have that license in hand.

Hungry for some authentic south-of-the-border street food? Follow the truck on Twitter (@HotAztec) or Facebook. A website is under construction.

In late November, The Scoop reported that Tilt, a pinball and skee-ball venue coming to Maplewood, was slated to open by the end of 2011. The Scoop checked in with owner Michael Stivers recently to determine why doors have yet to be unlocked at the building on the corner of Hazel Avenue and Sutton Boulevard and, according to Stivers, he is awaiting delivery of stools and booths. He also informed us that he received a cease and desist notice regarding the venue’s name, which prompted him to change the name from Tilt to Orbit Pinball Lounge. Stivers now anticipates a late January or early February opening.

Have you heard about the crazy-cheap fast food getting served up at the newly opened Smash Bar at 1305 Washington Ave.? For all of $6, you can order two quarter-pound burgers or get them as cheeseburgers (the burger takes a dip in melted cheese). Got a hankerin’ for something kinda-sorta from south of the border? Order a couple 10-inch tacos: deep-fried flour tortillas filled with fixings.

“I’m taking a bar and smashing it with a fast-food restaurant,” explained Smash Bar owner Jesse Jones of his latest venture. Jones is also co-owner of Amalgamated Brewing Co. and a former owner of The Stable (recently renamed American Craft Standard Brewing & Distilling Co.) in Benton Park. There are only seven items on the menu at Smash Bar, but all are made in-house, including the fries – regular or sweet potato – and the crab-and-lobster rangoon.

Jones decided to offer food at his nightclub, formerly home to Sugar Lounge, to enable patrons to fill their bellies without stepping outside. “We want them to stay instead of going to McDonald’s,” said Jones. Yeah, and McDonald’s doesn’t have a Velvet Elvis (fried peanut butter and banana sandwich) on its menu anyway.

For pics of the venue, which officially opened New Year’s Eve, check out Smash Bar’s Facebook page.

The absinthe bar that was added to Lola in August of 2010 is on the way out. According to Matt McMullin, general manager and partner at Lola, the bar will be replaced with what management is calling the Cognac Club. The new concept will highlight high-end cognac, Champagne and the über-trend of the mixology world these days: barrel-aged cocktails. In fact, special barrel service will be available in which patrons can enjoy a one-liter barrel containing a barrel-aged cocktail at their table. Taking it a step further, guests can order the super-premium barrel service, which entails calling the beverage crew at Lola some six weeks before their planned visit. The Lola folks will then hand-craft a one-liter cocktail and age it in the cask to be ready for drinking in time for their arrival. Minor changes in décor are expected before the Cognac Club debuts in March.

In early November, The Scoop reported that a restaurant would be filling the space in the historic building at 4229 Manchester Ave., in The Grove. Today, we spoke with owner Brandon Storman about his venture, SoHo Restaurant and Lounge.

Storman, a native St. Louisan, explained that SoHo, short for “Southern hospitality,” will be both a lounge and restaurant, thus taking advantage of the unique oblong space of the multi-level building. The first floor will house a 50-seat dining area and a separate lounge area with a DJ booth; the second floor will hold two private dining areas. In addition, SoHo will have a rooftop patio as well as a large ground-level patio.

The menu at SoHo will focus on what Storman called, “Southern food with a modern twist.” The bill of fare is still being finalized, but customers can expect appetizers such as jumbo shrimp and fried green tomatoes, and – among heartier eats – items like shrimp and grits, shrimp and fish po’boys, and home-style burgers “like they were made out of Grandma’s kitchen,” described Storman. Two area chefs have already been slated for back-of-the-house positions, but Storman declined to give those names since the individuals hold their current positions at other restaurants.

The target opening date for SoHo is March 1. A website (www.eatplaysoho.com) and Facebook page (eatplaysoho) will be constructed soon.

After working nearly a year to renovate the historic space at 380 Main St. in downtown Troy, Mo., the owners of the temporarily closed My Three Ladies Wine Haus are nearly ready to reopen the doors. While the wine bistro was originally located at 360 Main St., it has now expanded to also include the space next door at 380 Main St. Willing to make a westward trek for some steak and wine? Doors should be unlocked at My Three Ladies sometime in February, according to co-owner Michelle Shoemake. Watch for details on the restaurant’s Facebook page.