ALTON – Cathy Gross is a woman who has the Alton community at heart.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
She has demonstrated her love of the city since she started her enormously successful business – Bluff City Grill in the Downtown Alton area. Because of that significant success, she has made a decision to move the business some time later in the year to the old Eagles Club Building at 424 E. Broadway.
Bluff City Grill is presently located at 102 W. Ninth St. The new building is 24,000 square feet, plus added extra of parking space. The present Bluff City location has about 11,000 square feet of space.
The Eagles building was unoccupied and Gross saw it as a perfect opportunity to renovate a structure with significant history in Alton. Gross plans to also increase her catering part of the business with the space expansion. She said Bluff City's catering business has taken off and the additional space will allow that part of the business to expand.
“I am very excited about the move to the old Eagles Building,” she said. “We are already working inside. I am running back and forth between the restaurant on Ninth Street and the old Eagles Building. I definitely never thought just a few short years ago when we opened that we would not be leasing anymore and owning a building."
Gross emphasized that Bluff City Grill will remain open at its present location until it is officially moved to the Broadway spot.
“The old Eagles building has so much potential,” Gross said. “Some of the things in there are really outdated. Just a little bit of work and updates will go a long way. I think it will increase our business when we move.”
Gross said she is happy to be moving onto Broadway. In recent years, the area is coming alive with some new and vibrant businesses.
“We are hoping to move by the end of September or sometime in October,” she said. “Later on down the line, we will have some outdoor seating where people will be able to view the Clark Bridge and get a good view from there.”
