Hamilton Hospitality will open Rhone Rum Bar in November

Hamilton Hospitality is expanding its Lafayette Square holdings with Rhone Rum Bar, a Caribbean-themed bar and restaurant at 2107 Chouteau Ave. Co-owner Paul Hamilton said he hopes to have the doors open by mid-November, as reported by St. Louis Magazine. 

Hamilton Hospitality also owns Eleven Eleven Mississippi, Vin de Set, PW Pizza, The Malthouse Cellar, Moulin Event Space, 21st Street Brewers Bar and Hamilton’s Urban Steak House & Bourbon Bar, which are all located in the neighborhood.

Hamilton and his wife and co-owner, Wendy Hamilton, purchased the building, which is next door to Hamilton’s Steak House, in order to access the parking lot. Initially, Paul Hamilton said he thought about utilizing the building as a banquet space. In the interim, they offered the owners of Planter’s House the space to do their annual Miracle Christmas bar pop-up.

“They said they already had a spot and were good to go, so I started thinking ‘Well, we could do our own pop-up and maybe theme it after the Caribbean since we have a house down there, and we love it,’” Hamilton said. The pop-up idea soon morphed into a full-blown restaurant concept.

Hamilton said the new project, named after a spot in the British Virgin Islands popular with divers, will have a large selection of rums( particularly those made in the Caribbean), a list of eight to 10 frozen drinks and another similar-sized list of cocktails, plus a traditional full bar. Local beers and brews from the islands will also be available.

Hamilton stressed that Rhome Rum Bar won’t be a tiki joint. “Tiki bars are South Pacific and umbrellas in the drinks and coconuts to drink out of,” Hamilton said. “This is a Caribbean beach bar.”

Food-wise, Hamilton said the menu will consist of Caribbean small plates, like braised jerk chicken wings, conch fritters, johnny cakes and a take on roti, using phyllo dough instead of the traditional chickpea dough, and filled with veggies, chicken, beef or goat.

“We’re really trying to do very traditional dishes you’d get in the Caribbean,” Hamilton said.

The space will have between 130 and 150 seats, Hamilton said. Initially, he said he plans on having Rhone open Wednesday through Sunday with DJs and other live entertainment options. Hamilton said he’ll also add a Christmas component to the concept after Thanksgiving for the holiday season, what he deemed “Bad Santa’s rum bar.”

Matt Sorrell is staff writer at Sauce Magazine.