Blood & Sand, the members-only bar and restaurant venture by area bartenders TJ Vytlacil (pictured) and Adam Frager, is beginning to take shape. The target opening date for the downtown venue, according to Frager, is the first week of September. “They are doing demo right now. That should be finished by Thursday and our general contractor, Mark Robinson, who did Taste and Brasserie, will start renovation on Friday,” said Frager, noting a design feature in the space at 1500 St. Charles St., that he and Vytlacil are excited about. “There will be four columns of vertical green wall behind the bar. The concept allows us to change plants when we want to, to change for seasonality.” (Read more on the unique concept behind Blood & Sand here.)
As first reported by Evan Benn of the Post-Dispatch, Chris Bork was recently hired as Blood & Sand’s executive chef. Bork has worked at Wild Flower and Revival, and he opened The Terrace View prior to heading up the kitchen at The Mud House coffee shop on Cherokee Street.
Frager stated that Bork will likely come aboard some time in early August, which is also when Frager and Vytlacil expect to leave their places of employment, Pi in the Central West End and Demun Oyster Bar, respectively. George Mahe reported last night that chef Steven Caravelli will be Bork’s replacement at The Mud House. That’s in addition to Caravelli’s new role at Entre Events, which we told you about yesterday.
— Photo by Brian Fagnani
This article appears in Jul 1-31, 2011.