Sayonara, Swifty's.....



After 10 years of serving the downtown St Louis lunch crowd

we are shutting her down...



Our last day of operation will be Friday, July 18



To our loyal customers and staff, thank you so much for your support. Please continue to support small, independent restaurants downtown.

It's a shame. Seemed like it was doing well until the trainwreck of a remodel a couple years ago. It was always crowded prior to that, it seemed, and did a decent "shake break" business in the afternoon as well. Since the remodel (which, inexplicably, removed seats) it dropped at least by half.

Competition in the downtown lunch business has grown to be pret-tay, pret-tay, pret-tay fierce that last few years. Which is a good thing.



I liked their spud fries, but other than that found their food disappointing. The place never seemed particularly clean either.



I'm not all that concerned about these places closing. I have a suspicion that the market for downtown lunch places is a bit saturated. Hopefully, this will make way for a (non-food) retail establishment, which is what downtown really needs.

Oh yea, I forgot....





Let the back-stabbing of the 10-year old business begin.

Don't be so uptight. People are saying what they thought of it. It's a shame a business is closing, but there are a lot better lunch options downtown now than when I started working here 7 years ago.



I never really liked the place, it was too fast foody, but I will miss the shake breaks for sure.

Don't be so uptight. I'm just saying what I think of comments like "I never liked them" and how non-constructive they are.



I went there maybe once a month. They were pretty unique, especially considering burgers and fries were the primary menu items. I know they made an attempt at breakfast too.

My problem with this, and many, of the casual-dining places downtown, is that they all close SO DAMN EARLY.



I can walk down the street in any major city - New York, Chicago, London, Philadelphia, Boston, etc - and have my pick of any afternoon/night munching options that aren't sit-down-fancy. My only options past, say, 4PM in downtown, are fairly upscale sit-down establishments.



We've got a late-night pizza place, finally, but where's the sandwich take-out? The coffee shops? Ethnic take-outs? Late-night diners?

1000washington wrote:We've got a late-night pizza place, finally, but where's the sandwich take-out?

Not sure about this, but isn't Jimmy John's open late?

For a forum of - ostensibly - downtown and City boosters, I figured the primary goal of threads concerning businesses would be (a) informational and (b) constructive. If "I always hated them" or similar does add to the conversation, then my mistake, and carry on.

Jeff707 wrote:Is saying "I'm so sad they closed" any more constructive than "I never liked them anyway"?



No.



Therefore this thread should only have been one post long.

I think steve gave specific criticism, as did 1000washington, and I tried to as well. One specific post, however, did not.



Just following the spirit of the rules:

...and only post if you are going to contribute to the discussion in a constructive way

You are right though; "me too" posts without substance seem kind of silly as well.



Anyway, back to Swifty's: I wonder if the foray into Webster Groves for a short time took capital from the downtown location. I think downtown remodeled shortly after the WG location closed, and the remodel was done rather on the cheap.



What could open there now? It's in the base of a parking garage, so there's not room to expand out or up. Suggestions?

steve wrote:I didn't realize this was a funereal thread. My apologies for expressing my candid opinions regarding the deceased at such an unbecoming time and place.

Whoa...steve...Too soon, buddy...too soon

I like(d) the Swifty's concept, but wasn't crazy about the execution. One could find better versions of a lot of their menu items at other restaurants downtown.



With the loss of Dooley's and now Swifty's, hopefully someone will step up and open a good, quick burger joint.

Jeff707 wrote:How about this:



I wonder if the mediocre quality of their food limited the amount of revenue earned and the ability to afford decent furnishings?

Now you're talkin'.

Evidence appeared just about 3 years ago of an impending decline unless something was changed.



Tell-tale signs of stress - employee problems, cash-flow, owner burn-out, etc... were all over the place.



A business space is like a person. It needs TLC to keep an upbeat personality. Swifty's appearance was neglected. I felt sorrow for those dirty windows and hot looking patio tables with no umbrellas.



Swifty's opened as an enterprise with a lot of entrepreneurial spirit. It's closing - worn and tired with very little, if any, pizzazz remaining.



I honestly think if the owners have any energy left at all, moving to another, smaller location in downtown would keep them afloat. But the commitment would have to be at the 60 hour week level...not 30.

^ Interesting. I noticed they did try to do a lot the last few years - expanding to a new location, the remodel, doing breakfast, pushing catering, doing $5 e-mail specials. Talking to Travis, I got the impression that he really felt the website and specials were going to pick things up. I imagine the margins on that must have been super thin. $5 is not a lot for a full lunch these days.

JMedwick wrote:People may say whatever about the quality of food, you cannot dismisses the job cuts at May/Macys over the past few years as likely major reason why the restaurant is closing.

Very true. The loss of 800+ potential customers has got to be hurting quite a few DT restaurants.

I went to Papa's in Macy's yesterday for lunch... it was crowded around 1:00 p.m.

I asked the hostess about business and with the cut of the upstairs corp jobs...

she said the restaurant has been holding it's own and the loss of business has been marginal, but also noted that they get a lot of street business too. I also noticed that Macy's is putting signs outside on the street with their two restaurants on them.

1000washington wrote:My problem with this, and many, of the casual-dining places downtown, is that they all close SO DAMN EARLY.



I can walk down the street in any major city - New York, Chicago, London, Philadelphia, Boston, etc - and have my pick of any afternoon/night munching options that aren't sit-down-fancy. My only options past, say, 4PM in downtown, are fairly upscale sit-down establishments.



We've got a late-night pizza place, finally, but where's the sandwich take-out? The coffee shops? Ethnic take-outs? Late-night diners?

Planet Sub is now open late, if you consider 9:00 p.m. late and will be open seven days a week. It's a start.

I can walk down the street in any major city - New York, Chicago, London, Philadelphia, Boston, etc - and have my pick of any afternoon/night munching options that aren't sit-down-fancy. My only options past, say, 4PM in downtown, are fairly upscale sit-down establishments.

Yes, Its good to see Planet Sub as an option downtown. I hope they can keep those hours. Even though I live downtown, I don't work downtown, so rarely try anything that caters to the lunch crowd.



In many parts of London, the casual lunch & sandwich shops close early. I always found it kind of annoying. The business district of London turns into a ghost town in the evening. The lunch only restaurants in St. Louis remind me of my days there. Don't get me wrong, London has endless other options that are open late.

DeBaliviere wrote:I like(d) the Swifty's concept, but wasn't crazy about the execution. One could find better versions of a lot of their menu items at other restaurants downtown.



With the loss of Dooley's and now Swifty's, hopefully someone will step up and open a good, quick burger joint.

I agree on both accounts. Downtown needs a good burger joint. Hopefully we'll still see a reincarnation of Dooley's, but I'm not holding my breath. Swifty's as a concept was okay, but I wasn't exactly crazy about the place either. That said, I'm sorry to see another dining option go away.



I also have to agree with the posters lamenting the lack of afternoon/evening hours at many downtown eating establishments. I just got back from a couple of days in Columbia after a vacation elsewhere in outstate Missouri, and the variety of choices in The District (Columbia-speak for the downtown area) made me less homesick than I would've been otherwise.