I was wondering why it was taking so long to pick up carryout on Valentines Day in Webster Groves...
Every restaurant owner's worst nightmare came true the other evening for the hugely popular Webster eatery, Olive & Oak, along with their neighbor The Clover and The Bee and several other restaurants nearby, as they prepared for their Valentines evening business. Just as the restaurant was beginning to serve their early reservations, they were informed that a water main break nearby would prohibit them from using water---which obviously made running a restaurant impossible (although amazingly, they did manage to serve those 5pm reservations).
Talk about horrible timing...on a night in which the restaurant had nearly 200 reservations, this was the worst news possible.
The Olive & Oak owners managed to contact everyone with reservations later in the evening to let them know about the situation, which left many Valentines couples without a place to celebrate their big night. As someone who tried and failed to make a reservation that evening, I can only imagine the disapointment diners felt--not to mention the restaurant's owners and employees who were loooking forward to a great night of business. That goes for other restaurants affected which included CJ Muggs, Llewelyn's Pub, Sushi Station, and San Jose Mexican Restaurant.
What makes the St. Louis restaurant scene so special however, is the way owners work with one another when things go bad--which they inevitably do in the restaurant business.
The nearby Balkan Treat Box offered the use of their restaurant, which was closed for the evening while Savage in Fox Park sent $500 to the restaurant's crew to make up for the tips they missed.
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