Kitchen Fire Closes Stella Blues Indefinitely

Beloved Tower Grove South bar Stella Blues (3269 Morgan Ford Road) is closed indefinitely after fire broke out in the kitchen earlier this afternoon.

Bar manager Zoe McKelvie says the south city favorite was open for business when her phone started blowing up around 1:30 p.m., with employees, neighbors and friends all sharing news that the kitchen was engulfed in flames. "Apparently some sort of grease fire broke out in the kitchen," she says.

Patrons and staff were all evacuated without incident, she says. But while the building is still standing, the kitchen is not.

You can see the damage in the video below:


Suffice it to say, the bar is now closed indefinitely. McKelvie says staffers are trying to get their heads around what comes next. "The building at large is still standing, which is better than we would have expected," she says. "This is mostly a cleaning and rebuilding situation. But it's hard to say right now how long that will take."

McKelvie says the bar will have no choice but to rely on community support. "I have staff I can't pay" now that the place is closed, she says. She says Stella Blues fans should keep an eye out for a GoFundMe soon.

"We love our community as much as they love us," she says. "It will absolutely be our goal to get back to where we can serve them as fast as we possibly can. We're grateful for everyone's support. And we're still here — and have no intention of leaving."



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