Tidbits from Delmonico's Diner, Vic's on the Plaza

Laura Ann Miller

- Gut Check first reported last December that soul-food mainstay Delmonico's Diner (4909 Delmar Boulevard; 314-361-0973) would be closed temporarily until February of this year, when it would reopen under new ownership. February came and went without it reopening, though we learned that the phone number was now disconnected.

Now, of course, it's May, and when I checked in today, nothing had changed. The restaurant is still closed, the phone number is still disconnected, and the sign on the front door still promises a February 2012 grand reopening.

However, I did find a comment on the original post from one month ago posted by someone claiming to be the granddaughter of Eva Bobo saying that the restaurant will "eventually" reopen. So we'll continue to keep our eye on it.

- With every day seeming to bring news of another Roberts brothers' property in financial distress, I thought I'd check up on the former Shula's 347 Grill space on the ground floor of Roberts Tower at 411 North Eighth Street.

As you might remember, the first area restaurant from NFL head coach turned restaurateur Don Shula opened in May of last year but then closed its doors suddenly in December after its corporate owner revoked the franchise. The restaurant then reopened in January with the same chef as Vic's on the Plaza.

Or perhaps I should say "purportedly reopened" because I'm not sure if anyone ever dined there. At any rate, the space now appears closed for good, with dead leaves gathered in the revolving entrance door and -- always a telltale sign -- the bar shelves empty of a single liquor bottle.