Mike McLaughlin, owner of The Bleeding Deacon Public House in south St. Louis, is opening a bar and restaurant in downtown Maplewood, as reported by Evan Benn of the Post-Disptach. The Crow’s Nest will be located at 7336 Manchester Ave., in the space formerly occupied by Red Lion.
The new restaurant will be “like The Deacon but a little more sophisticated,” according to McLaughlin. “It’s going to focus more on local ingredients. [It will have] a little different price point – $10 to 15 instead of $8 to $10 over at The Deacon – but the same atmosphere here [at The Crow’s Nest] as over there. I like to call it innovative, accessible comfort food.” Jimmy Hippchen, who formerly served as a head chef at The Bleeding Deacon, will helm the kitchen at the Maplewood restaurant.
McLaughlin noted that the process is streamlined. He explained that though there will be some décor changes to the space, he doesn’t foresee too many stumbling blocks thanks to the city of Maplewood’s “streamlined process” for opening a business and because the space won’t require any renovations. He hopes to open The Crow’s Nest in early October.
See our 2009 review of The Bleeding Deacon here.
This article appears in Aug 1-31, 2011.