Tim’s Chrome Bar will soon reopen under new ownership in Bevo Mill neighborhood of south St. Louis

Tim’s Chrome Bar will reopen under new ownership at 4736 Gravois Ave. in Bevo Mill at the end of February or early March. The bar has undergone extensive renovations and will return with a new look as well as a new menu and list of local craft beers, wines and cocktails. 

Tim Pappas, who founded Tim’s Chrome Bar in its original incarnation in 1977, sold the bar in January 2022 to Schuchard Event Spaces, owned by artists Pat and Carol Schuchard. Schuchard Event Spaces also owns and operates three additional venues: Das Bevo, Boo Cat Club and Majorette. The Schuchards recently purchased the Immaculate Conception Church at 3120 Lafayette Ave. and have repurposed the space as an art studio. 

Over the past year, the Schuchards and their team have carried out extensive renovations not just on the Tim’s space, but on the entire building, known as The Irene, which they purchased with the bar. They’ve expanded Tim’s into the former Stari Grad bakery space next door, significantly expanding the bar’s footprint to allow for a total capacity of about 99 customers. The former bakery is now an adjoining lounge room, which can be closed off for private events.

Co-owner Amy Lewis said the original plan for Tim’s was to “polish it up, clean it off and reopen very similar to what it was before.” However, it quickly became clear that wasn’t an option. “It’s been completely renovated, completely gutted,” said Lewis. “The floor, walls, systems, everything is new.”

When the bar reopens, customers will find a striking, colorful retro design that calls back to the era the bar opened in. “It's kind of a nod to the late ’70s, early ’80s, the era in which it started,” Lewis said. “We weren’t trying to recreate what it was before, we're just trying to put our own spin on it.”

Lewis said that the bar will offer a fun cocktail menu, as well as pouring a number of local craft beers. The food menu is still being finalized, with details expected to be confirmed later this week. “It's not going to be a full sit-down restaurant. It'll be very simple food that we hope that people want to come there just for that, something that you can’t get anywhere else,” Lewis said. 

The bar will have a stage for hosting DJs and comedians, and Lewis said the bar also plans to have bingo nights hosted on a retro bingo machine. Initially, Tim’s will be open Wednesday through Sunday, in the evenings only, with the exception of Sundays when the bar will open earlier for brunch.  

Follow Tim’s Chrome Bar on Instagram for the latest updates.