As first reported by Ian Froeb of The Riverfront Times, David Bailey continues to amass city addresses for his restaurant operations. The owner of Baileys’ Chocolate Bar, Rooster and Bridge Tap House & Wine Bar has taken over the downtown space at 920 Olive St., previously occupied by City Gourmet. He plans to use a portion of the space as a prep kitchen to service his nearby restaurants and the remaining space to operate a fourth restaurant.
While Bailey isn’t ready to disclose the concept behind his newest eatery that he expects to open by mid to late May just yet, he did say that it will be a sit-down establishment. “There will be no structural changes. Design-wise, it will look totally different – paint, seating, all that stuff,” he said. “It wasn’t really a sit-down restaurant before, but it is going to be now. We are not putting up any walls. It will remain a big open space.” Bailey added that, “I always want the restaurants to have a signature flavor and feel to them. All three, even though they are completely different concepts, you can tell they are related to each other and this one will be the same way.”
A major motivator behind selecting the space was “to put less mileage on the delivery man,” Bailey said. Currently, a staff of seven prepare challah, focaccia, flatbreads, hundreds of rolls, buns and loaf breads, along with roasted and smoked meats at a prep kitchen in Webster Groves, which are then delivered to Bailey’s restaurants every day. Rooster and Bridge are located downtown, while Bailey’s Chocolate Bar is in nearby Lafayette Square. Bailey noted that the move is part of his commitment “to make anything and everything we possibly can, to use the best local products and stay close to home.”
This article appears in March 2011.