After months of delays, Baia is finally ready to open its doors.
The new Italian restaurant from the team behind Good Company and Aperi will officially open Thursday, Aug. 20, at 4199 Manchester Ave. in the Grove, just a block from its sister restaurants.
The restaurant was originally slated to open in mid-May, but construction permits and inspections pushed the timeline back. According to owner Jordan Goodman, the delays were frustrating but ultimately outside the restaurant’s control.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Goodman said. “We’re super excited to finally get the doors open, and we love how the space turned out.”
As Sauce previously reported, Baia grew out of an opportunity to acquire the former Taha’a Twisted Tiki space. Goodman and executive chef Jon Priestley, who previously oversaw the kitchens at Good Company and Aperi, began developing the concept around Priestley’s vision for a small, focused restaurant centered on handmade pasta.
The roughly 1,600-square-foot restaurant takes its name from Baia, the Italian word for “cove” or “bay,” and draws design inspiration from the Italian Riviera. Studio DVLP is leading the architecture and design, while Clover & Kith Creative handled the branding.
An open kitchen will put pasta production at the center of the experience, with about one-third of the restaurant dedicated to the kitchen. Guests will be able to sit at a counter and watch pasta being made during service.
The menu will follow the traditional Italian structure of antipasti, primo and secondi. Pasta will be the centerpiece, with an opening lineup of about eight dishes spanning long noodles and stuffed pastas, with the selection expected to rotate frequently. The secondi section will focus on proteins that can be mixed and matched with other dishes.
“We want to explore the art of pasta making,” Goodman previously told Sauce.
The beverage program will have a similarly Italian focus, with bar manager Maddy Knutson overseeing a wine and cocktail program built around Italian reds, whites, sparkling and skin-contact wines, as well as aperitivo-style cocktails and amari. Goodman has also been building a wine cellar for the restaurant, while a strong martini program is planned.
Baia’s opening will be the latest addition to a growing collection of concepts from Goodman and his team in and around the Grove. Good Hospitality recently opened Malo and Chico Bueno, both of which have been finding their footing in the neighborhood.
Goodman said those openings have not taken away from the excitement surrounding Baia, which has remained a separate project with Studio DVLP and AHM Constructors handling much of the work.
“It’s been really great watching Adrian and his team keep pushing both concepts forward,” Goodman said, referring to chef Adrian Maldonado and the Malo and Chico Bueno teams. “Honestly, none of that has changed the progress or excitement around Baia.”
The group’s presence in the Grove may not end with Baia, either. Goodman said there are no additional projects currently planned for the neighborhood, but he would not rule out another concept if the right opportunity and team came along.
“We love the Grove and care about the neighborhood,” he said. “If the right opportunity and right people are there we won’t say no to anything.”
Baia’s outdoor plans will come later. The restaurant’s eventual backyard will include a large patio with a covered bar, fenced-in green space and, eventually, bocce courts, creating what Goodman has envisioned as an Italian wine garden.
For now, the focus is getting the doors open.
Following its grand opening, Baia will become the latest piece of Good Hospitality’s expanding St. Louis portfolio. The group’s next projects include La Perla, a taqueria planned for Shaw with Haley Christinidis, as well as a cocktail bar planned for the original Chico Bueno space.
