Jim Fiala is calling it quits for The Terrace View, his downtown restaurant at 808 Chestnut St., that sits adjacent to Citygarden sculpture park. As first reported by Matt Sorrell of Feast, Fiala cited a lack of dinner patrons as the reason for closing the restaurant a little more than two years after it debuted.
While Fiala noted that lunchtime business has been consistent, dinner service has not seen the same success. “No one goes to the park at nighttime,” he said, noting that “last year about this time” was when he first harbored thoughts of closing the restaurant. “Once the newness of the park wore off – then you go through a winter of 10 degrees with blasting cold wind; no one will go to the park to see the garden.” Likewise, Fiala has seen excessive heat affect dinner service in the summer. “I had 45 people on the books on a Saturday night in July. But it was 105 degrees outside. By noon, every single reservation had called and canceled.” In Fiala’s view, the general public deems the restaurant and Citygarden as “a package deal.” While he would like to offer this amenity, “it’s not worth the hassle,” he summed.
As you’ll remember, The Terrace View has seen quite a bit of activity this year in the kitchen as well. In April, Jonathan Olson, formerly the executive chef at Erato Wine Bar in Edwardsville, took the top spot at The Terrace View. It wasn’t but a couple months later that Fiala confirmed that Olson had left The Terrace View and been replaced by Mason Denton, who formerly cooked at Pomme Café and Wine Bar in Clayton.
Beginning October 1, the restaurant will switch to its winter hours, serving only weekday lunch. Doors will close for good after service on December 31, which is when Fiala’s lease ends. Employees at the Terrace View, said Fiala, will be offered positions at his other three restaurants, Liluma, Acero and The Crossing.
This article appears in Sep 1-30, 2011.