Chefs Mike Randolph and Mick Fumo will spearhead the restaurant.
The address 48 Maryland Plaza—in the Central West End, the former home of Scape American Bistro—is one of the best parcels of restaurant real estate in the city. Add in the semi-private European courtyard tucked behind the building, and it might be the best.
In 2007, following a revitalization of Maryland Plaza, the Koplar family partnered with former St. Louisan and industry mogul Larry Levy of Levy Restaurants to open ~scape. The restaurant became the CWE’s fine-dining bistro, a door left ajar by the passing of legendary Balaban’s. After a succession of chefs (most notably Eric Kelly) and a name change to the more straightforward Scape American Bistro, it eventually shuttered in April 2019.
“Scape had gone through so many iterations and leaders that it lost its north star,” reflects Sam Koplar, one of the past and present principals. “The post-mortem was not to reincarnate it, but start with a clean slate. There are so many great restaurants in the neighborhood in all shapes and sizes. We just wanted to be back among them.”
A new restaurant, called Edera (Italian for “ivy,” which makes sense to anyone who’s visited Scape’s ivy-walled back patio), was conceived last fall and is slated to open in May.