The Urban Stillhouse is in for a major makeover.
The owner of the upscale St. Petersburg restaurant, cocktail bar and bourbon emporium has big plans for the nearly six-year-old business after acquiring the property attached to the restaurant earlier this month for $8 million.
Meredith Koko, who opened The Urban Stillhousein St. Petersburg’s Warehouse Arts District in 2020, said she plans on doing a complete cosmetic renovation of the 16,000-square-foot building at 2232 Fifth Ave. S.
The overhaul will include renovating the existing space in addition to the office building next door, which will be refashioned into a separate bar, restaurant and live music venue. Koko said a roughly $2 million construction loan will help with what she plans to be a massive undertaking over the next several months.
In the interim, she hopes to keep the restaurant open, at least until September when she imagines the spot might close for a week or two to train staff.
The bi-level restaurant, which is licensed by Horse Soldier Bourbon, opened in August 2020. Koko, whose family owns Horse Soldier Bourbon, is the sole owner of The Urban Stillhouse, which also has a two-year-old location in Somerset, Kentucky. Over the past several years, the tony spot has garnered a reputation as an elite hub for bourbon aficionados. Horse Soldier Bourbon, named for the legendary Green Berets who rode horses in Afghanistan after the attacks of 9/11, features prominently on the menu.
Koko said the St. Petersburg business was overdue for maintenance and cosmetic renovations following the wear and tear that comes from running a restaurant for so many years.
The spot currently sports sleek, modern decor, which was designed with distilleries in Scotland and Kentucky in mind. The handsome industrial touches and heavy metal and copper accents will still be featured, Koko said, but will get a revamp, including new tables, chairs and bar-tops. The kitchen is also slated for a big renovation.
“It’s all gorgeous, but it needs to be replaced,” she said.
Upstairs, a members-only club called the Commander’s Club will also get a makeover, and will more closely resemble something like New York City’s Polo Club, Koko said, who envisions lots of dark wood and leather accents.
Koko has tapped new culinary talent to lead the restaurant. Chad Welch, who previously worked at the Butchertown Grocery Bakery and Steakhouse Bourre Bonne, both in Louisville, will oversee the restaurant and future Urban Stillhouse culinary programs as the company’s executive chef. Helming the St. Petersburg kitchen on a day-to-day basis is Alan Chandonia, formerly of Atlanta restaurant Ecco Midtown.
Though the menu will completely change, Koko said, the general format will stay the same, but perhaps lean more heavily into steakhouse-adjacent themes, including different cuts of meat and an assortment of sides.
“Will we keep a bison and a lamb chop (on the menu)? Yes,” she said. “Horse Soldier is a premium brand. Our open-flame grill with our barrel staves, that’s really who we are so I’m not trying to veer too far off the path.”
Some things have already changed at the restaurant, Koko said.
Over the years, the spot has garnered a reputation as being reservation-only. That’s no longer the case, Koko said.
“We’re ‘reservation suggested’ — we do take walk-ins,” she said.
A separate room in the building formerly used for tastings has been re-branded as the Barrel Bar, and is currently open for additional walk-in business.
Once the additional bar opens (in what is currently the restaurant’s office), Koko said the 3,400-square-foot space will allow for a slightly more casual food menu (burgers instead of bison, for instance), a more pared-down cocktail program and a spot where folks can stop by for a drink, a bite and some live music.
There’s no exact timeframe yet, but Koko is eyeing late fall for an opening.
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