Editor’s Note: Stur Restaurant and Lounge has closed.
Stur, a new restaurant and cocktail lounge, has opened quietly at 4 Club Centre Court, Ste. A in Edwardsville. The new nightspot is owned by Angie and John Schmitt and is their first restaurant venture. Angie Schmitt said during her 20 years working in the auto dealership industry, she spent much of her time coordinating events and fundraisers at St. Louis restaurants and wanted to open her own lounge space on the east side of the river.
“We found ourselves driving to St. Louis all the time, and (we thought) something here could be possible,” she said. “I chose Edwardsville because it’s the new up-and-coming town of young families, and with (Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville) here, I thought I could hone in on the college professors and alumni.”
A three-person management team oversees the front of house, kitchen and bar. Schmitt said she was keen that Stur, which seats 80 in the restaurant and 20 in the lounge, have a top-notch mixology program, so she called in high-profile talent to help design the cocktail menu. Brian Van Flandern, an award-winning beverage industry veteran with two cocktail books to his name, operates My Mixology, a consultancy program that designs cocktail menus and trains staff to create the beverages. Schmitt said Van Flandern’s program stresses the importance of harmony between spirit, acid and sugar. “If you don’t have a good balance, it doesn’t ring through in the cocktail,” she said.
The lounge boasts a signature cocktail, Creating a Stur, a mix of Ketel One vodka, sparkling wine, simple syrup and fresh cucumber and lime juices. Other specialty drinks on the menu include a twist on a Manhattan (Stur adds a dash of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.) and Shaken, Not Sturred, which mixes gin, green Chartreuse, tarragon, lemon juice and simple syrup. The bar also offers bottled beer and a small selection of wines by the glass and bottle.
The edible side of the menu is divided between a large appetizer selection, entrees, salads and sandwiches. Appetizers include house-made hummus, lemongrass chicken wings and a goat cheese tart, while entrees focus on heartier fair like a 12-ounce New York strip, honey-soy roasted salmon and roast chicken.
A grand opening celebration is slated for July. Until then, Stur is open Tuesday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
This article appears in June 2014.