The End of an Era – Blue Water Grill
Oct 23, 2008 St. Louis, missouri, restaurants
Hands down the saddest restaurant news I’ve heard this year, my former employer, Tim Mallett, is choosing not to extend the lease on Blue Water Grill and will be calling it a wrap Saturday November 8th. The news comes by way of their latest Great Restaurants customer email in which he said best what there is to be said about what he’s done for the St. Louis restaurant scene.
As we get closer to the end of 2008, we also approach the 20th anniversary of opening Blue Water Grill. Twenty years is a long time in the restaurant industry and I believe we have made a significant change to the St. Louis dining scene. We have introduced simply prepared seafood, tapas-style dining, wine flights, etc., and the idea that you could go out for a nice meal without spending a small fortune. They may seem like common practices now, but 20 years ago they were unheard of. I feel we have been successful at our mission statement of providing a high quality hospitality experience with emphasis on creativity, superior service and value.
But as we all know, we live in some very uncertain economic times that have made the restaurant industry extremely challenging. Our customers have less disposable income to spend on eating out and business has suffered. So when my lease is up in November, I have decided not to renew it. Blue Water Grill will serve its last customers on Saturday November 8th.
It really is a sad day. He was a great boss and I always admired his commitment to running his restaurants in a way that could produce consistently good food at an incredibly fair price.
Tags: Blue Water Grill, Tim Mallett
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