GRAFTON - Those who enjoy the delights of the Broadway Oyster Bar & Bar in Downtown St. Louis will no longer have to look too far with the opening soon of a new location at 215 Water St. in Grafton.
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The Broadway Oyster Bar location in Grafton will be in the old Big Kahuna location.
Broadway Oyster Bar owners John and Victoria Johnson are partnering with Brad Hagen, their executive chef in St. Louis, to open the new location. Hagen is a Jerseyville resident and has been talking to John Johnson for a few years about opening a Grafton location.
“We already have a liquor license,” John Johnson said. “Our target date to open is mid-February to a drop-dead deadline of the first of March. Brad Hagen grew up in Jerseyville and he brought this to my attention that a spot was opening up there in Grafton.”
John and Victoria Johnson have toyed with different expansions over the years. The couple considered St. Charles, O’Fallon and Washington, Mo., as possible locations, but they both felt because of Hagen’s hometown, this was the best fit for their business plan.
John Johnson said some remodeling is going on at the moment and Hagen is helping with that.
“He knows more about the area than I do,” Johnson said. “We are building the kitchen out a little bit in Grafton. The business will be a little more food-oriented than the previous owners. It will basically be the same vibe and food we have here in St. Louis. The menu will be about 80 to 85 percent of what we already have.”
John Johnson said Cajun, Creole and seafood will be the staples of the new restaurant like the St. Louis location. He said the kitchen size will be smaller in Grafton than St. Louis and things will have to be streamlined a little bit because of kitchen capacity for the cook-line. He said in St. Louis at any one time, there can be six people cooking, two shucking oysters and two doing dishes.
Live entertainment will be a popular feature at the new Broadway Oyster Bar & Grill. Johnson is seeking and already booking local talent for 2016.
“We want to replicate as much of the oyster bar here, but it will be a little bit different atmosphere,” Johnson said. “We won’t stay open as late there as we do in St. Louis where we stay open until 3 a.m. In Grafton, everything shuts down at about 1 a.m.”
This summer will be the Johnsons 18th year of owning the Broadway Oyster Bar & Grill in St. Louis.
“We will try to bring as much of the food, music and service vibe from here in St. Louis,” John Johnson said. “We have a couple service people here who have decided they wanted to transfer there, so that will help us.”
More information will come on RiverBender.com as the Broadway Oyster Bar & Grill in Grafton opening nears.
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