ST. LOUIS (KMOX) -- A chef and entrepreneur has plans to light the grill up again inside the tiny, iconic Eat-Rite diner building downtown.
Tim Eagan tells KMOX he'll call it "Fleur STL at Eat-Rite."
The menu, he promises, won't be a drastic departure.
"There's always going to be a burger on there. There's going to be the slinger," Eagan says. "Nobody can mess with the slinger. It might be a little more refined, but, if anything, it's going to be better."
He's learning just how much tradition the building carries among St. Louisans.
"Perfect strangers are thanking me for doing this," he says.
The building at 7th and Chouteau needs some work, like new covers for the stools and electrical work to light up the marquee. Local artist Phil Jarvis is preparing a new logo and graphic designs for the windows.
"I am going to put a twist on it. Polish it up a little bit. Not completely get rid of it. So people don't have to be worried," Eagan says.
He plans Fleur to be an overarching brand encompassing his prepared meals, private chef, and catering business. It's a reference to the fleur-de-lis, a French symbol adopted by St. Louis.
Eagan last owned his own restaurant in 2008. He then worked as an executive chef at area hotels and restaurants before starting his catering business.
"I'm looking forward to not only to getting back out there but allowing people to eat *my* food," he says.
Eat-Rite occupied the spot for nearly 80 years before it was boarded up last December. It changed owners and briefly closed in 2017.
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