{Dave Rook}
Brothers Dave and Mike Rook are going to be seeing one another much more than just at family gatherings now that they’re opening not one, but two restaurants in the coming weeks. The Rook restaurants, to be called King Louie’s and Empire Deli & Pizza, will both be located on Washington Avenue, as St. Louis Magazine’s George Mahe was the first to report. King Louie’s will sit at 1137 Washington Ave., in the old 12th Street Diner spot; Empire will be located two doors down at 1131 Washington Ave., in the former B&T Pizza spot.
The focus at King Louie’s will be “modern American comfort food,” said Mike. The restaurant will be open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night dining. Mike also noted that on Friday and Saturday nights, King Louie’s will stay open 24 hours – with a bent on breakfast eats – to cater to the hunger pangs of the nearby club-going crowd.
Empire Deli & Pizza will be an East Coast-style delicatessen, offering classic deli sandwiches; cheese sliced to order; New York-style pizza available by the slice or by the pie; a variety of New York-style dogs; plus a few grab-and-go deli items. Mike noted that the meats will come from New Jersey-based Thumann’s; its products are free of MSG, additives, preservatives and gluten. Empire will be open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight, but it will offer delivery until 2:30 a.m., and until 3 a.m. on weekends.
Mike expressed his enthusiasm about getting back into the restaurant business. Years ago, he worked with brother Lou (now executive chef at Annie Gunn’s) at now-closed Grappa in the Central West End; he was also a partner with Dave at the defunct Aqua Vin in West County. For the last two decades, however, he has worked in the insurance business. “I’ve been itching to get back in,” he said. When asked about mixing brothers and business, he responded that they would get along fine, but added, “We have our moments. We’re all pretty strong-willed.” The brothers will have some physical separation, though, with Dave (whose final day as executive chef at Copia was January 1) running the kitchen at both King Louie’s and Empire and Mike handling the front of the house for both. A third partner, Ryan McMillan, will keep his current job in the insurance industry.
February 25 is the target date for opening the Empire. As for King Louie’s, Mike said that March 1 had been the target date, but the opening has been delayed until March 15 due to a hot water pipe that burst yesterday, damaging renovations in the bar area. A website, with a landing page for both restaurants, is under construction, as are Facebook pages.
— photo by Wesley Law
This article appears in February 2013.