Is there, WAS there a Tage replacement?
It is either a case of premature advertising, or the premature demise of a business plan. Or…it’s a clever way to generate buzz, in which case we’re happy to oblige.
A mystery advertisement in that new St. John magazine (which is beautiful by the way) touts a replacement restaurant for Tage. Right there, opposite the letter from the publisher, the big, full color ad touts “180 Degrees…formerly Tage….a modern French inspired restaurant with a twist,” and promises 7 day a week dining and Sunday brunch. The problem is the Website listed is dead, and the phone number listed has been disconnected. Ted Robinson, the original Tage founder, told On-StJohn last week he heard there were people throwing ideas around for the space, and said he’d be interested if the right thing and the right people came along. But nobody we know is telling us anything. If you’re in the know, do tell. We’d love to hear about it.
November 20th, 2007 05:25
Tage back? Would’nt it be lovely… try to find out who paid for the ad in that new St John magazine… CTC
November 20th, 2007 09:47
I’ll bet that given the publication date of the issue, that the advertising was sold quite a while ago and that as you state….a bit of premature ” “
November 20th, 2007 09:52
What “new St. John magazine?” Where can I order one?
November 20th, 2007 10:32
I just read an article last week in the Tradewinds that seemed to explain what was going on. The current owner had decided to “do something different” (hence the name 180 I guess) but over the summer after running the numbers, had decided it couldn’t work and called the whole thing quits. The advertising for St John Magazine had to be in by the middle of August at the latest, so perhaps he had submitted the ad well before that, thinking the restaurant would be open and running at publication time.
“The restaurant didn’t go where either Foster or Robinson expected it to go, Foster added. During the off season when Tage was closed, Foster began to formulate his idea to open a new restaurant.
From the story:
“The concept with the new name attached to it was more a French/Spanish/Italian/Mediterranean focus, and we’d scale the wine list down a bit but still have some pretty amazing wines,” he said. “The other goal was to make it more accessible, because we’d have so many people stop us and say, ‘I’d like to eat at your restaurant but I just can’t afford it.’ That’s not what we wanted to be.”
Here is the article: (Not sure you can see it without a login)
http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2052&Itemid=38
November 20th, 2007 12:11
I too would like to know where I can get a copy of the new St. John magazine… what is the name and who publishes it?
November 20th, 2007 15:07
http://www.stjohnmagazine.com/
November 20th, 2007 18:57
If anyone knows the former owner of Tage, Karl, who was interviewed in Tradewinds, they may want to have a word with him. He left all of his employees high and dry without paying them! Hundreds to thousands of dollars! No clue how someone got that interview, because people have been searching for him high and low. No clue about the possible new restaurant.
November 21st, 2007 01:47
How sad to hear the employees were left high and dry. Most of them worked two jobs (as lot of other hardworking people on St. John do). This former owner, the owner of The Beach Bar cooking the books (pleaded guilty) along with God knows what else is going on, seems the carpetbaggers are firmly entrenched on St. John.