Blondie’s Coffee and Wine Bar is slated to open downtown at 1301 Washington Ave., in the fall. The restaurant is a project by Kathleen McGowan, sister to developers Tim, Bill, Sean and Seamus McGowan of McGowan Brothers Development.
Kathleen McGowan told The Scoop that the restaurant will be an upscale coffee and wine bar with a casual, cozy vibe. To that end, customers will order breakfast, lunch and dinner at the counter and servers will then run freshly baked morning sweets, midday sandwiches, salads and paninis, as well as small plates and apps in the evening, to the tables.
As far as beverages go, Blondie’s will be using Kaldi’s coffee to prepare its hot drinks and will feature six to eight white and red wines by the glass and by the bottle. A slew of handcrafted martinis will also be on the list. As for brews, McGowan said that she’ll offer “the Buds of the world, but also some unique style beers you can’t find everywhere else that are fun and different.”
Situated at the corner of Washington Avenue and 13th Street, the patio at Blondie’s should be a fun place to hang, but another crowd attraction just might be the popovers. McGowan grew up in Connecticut with fond memories of the East Coast baked good. “The only place I know in St. Louis that has them on the menu consistently is the Neiman Marcus café,” said McGowan. Popovers will dot the Blondie’s menu in several ways: as a sweet hallowed roll served with strawberry or apple butter, savory with herbs, as sandwich bread for lunch eats and even as a dessert such as popover bread pudding.
Look for Blondie’s to join the Washington Avenue strip in late Septemeber. Until then, you can take a look at the soon-to-open spot on Facebook.
This article appears in June 2011.