Just three weeks after Art Bar on Cherokee Street closed its doors, Tom Halaska has announced he will be the general manager at DeMun Oyster Bar effective today, April 25. Halaska previously spent six years as the general manager of Sasha’s on Shaw and said he is pleased to return to working with owners Alan Richman and Rachel Jones.
“It’s great to be going back with a company that supported me and was a part of my life for a long time,” Halaska said.
For his part, Halaska aims to pair fun with oysters. “That’s what I bring to the table,” he said. “The oyster bar is a beautiful, elegant, classy joint. I’m going sprinkle in a little dirt.” That “dirt” will include live music, brass bands and maybe a crawfish boil and oyster happy hour. “We’ll still serve delicious, elegant food and oysters flown in from the coasts and picked up at the airport every day. It’s one of the most beautiful restaurants in St. Louis, and it’s fun to be able to put my mark on that.”
Also coming aboard at DeMun Oyster Bar is Rachel Kornhardt, who served alongside Halaska at Art Bar and will be the bar manager, and Halaska’s nephew, Nik Halaska. Nik also works at The Libertine in the restaurant and with its CSA. At DeMun, he’ll be the “utility man,” doing whatever needs to be done.
Look for a more customizable bar program with cocktails tailored to individual taste profiles and created on the spot, instead of customers choosing strictly off the menu. Those cocktails will likely feature new house-made syrups, bitters and liqueurs.
Editor’s note: This post was corrected at 12:45 p.m. April 25 to accurately spell Rachel Kornhardt’s name.
This article appears in April 2016.