Blue Violet (6108 Shoger, Suite B) in Edwardsville has closed. The acclaimed restaurant shuttered after dinner service on Saturday, February 17.
Owned by Michael Del Pietro of Michael Del Pietro Restaurant Group, Blue Violet marked the group’s first foray away from Italian cuisine. (Del Pietro also operates two locations of Sugo’s Spaghetteria, Babbo’s Spaghetteria in Chesterfield, Il Palato in Clayton, and Del Pietro’s in Richmond Heights, an homage to the erstwhile Del Pietro’s House of Pasta, which his parents opened in 1976.) Blue Violet’s menu might be described as “contemporary American small plates and entrées with a twist.”
The reviews were solid, with 4.5 stars on Yelp and praise from several leading restaurant critics. In a 2022 review, St. Louis Post-Dispatch dining critic Ian Froeb wrote, “Blue Violet might not be the typical restaurant from Michael Del Pietro and his team, but it’s the most exciting—and maybe, already, the best yet.” Froeb also named it one of the best new restaurants of 2022. In a more recent review, SLM’s Dave Lowry wrote that “not a single dish failed,” adding that “Blue Violet’s creative take on chicken cordon bleu is splendid” and that the tempura shrimp was “an altogether wonderful, unexpected dish that’s skillfully presented.”
To many patrons and observers, Blue Violet (which takes its name from the state flower of Illinois) hit the “finer dining” mark in décor, food, price point, and atmosphere, encased in a vibe that was a little more than come-as-you-are and a little less than dressing up.
So what happened? “Had I known what was happening, I would’ve done something about it,” Del Pietro says. “Was it the pricing, the décor, the concept? I don’t know. Was the cuisine too obscure? We tried to push the envelope. Maybe we pushed it too hard, but there were no indications of that. After having a decent honeymoon period, the place just wasn’t clicking. There was traction, just not enough to make it a winner.
“I thought everything about the place was awesome,” Del Pietro adds. “The food was well-executed, the bar and liquor program was great, the ownership team was on site… Sugo’s has done really great [in Edwardsville] for the last nine years. That’s why we decided to do a follow-up restaurant. It just didn’t work out. It’s fun to open a restaurant, and its sucks to close one. Opening is a 10, and closing is a -15.”
Managing partner Ryan French adds: “The people who liked it, loved it. There just weren’t enough of them.”
Looking forward, Del Pietro hopes to veer away from higher price points with his existing restaurants. “Sugo’s and Babbo’s do so, so well,” he says. “I want to get Il Palato’s prices to where it’s perceived to be a little more casual—that’s where the action is.”