Fish restaurant spot to reopen as Clary's

His plans, however, will mean the end for Fish, a seafood restaurant he opened in January 2005, in Battlefield Marketplace, 900 E. Battlefield.

Last August, Clary sold Clary’s American Grill, 3014 E. Sunshine St., after 18 years to Dave and Lynee Fender and devoted his attention to Fish, where he said food quality and service had begun falling to the wayside. Clary founded Fish with co-owner Carenna Butterbaugh, though he bought her ownership earlier this year.

When the Fenders closed Clary’s earlier this month, former owner Clary announced days later that he would close Fish and reopen his namesake eatery in its place. Fish’s last day of business was slated to be June 16.

“This is not about Fish not doing well,” Clary said. “This is about me opening a concept that’s close to my heart.”

Fish, Clary said, was never a venture that fulfilled him.

“Clary’s is what I do – it’s what I know,” he said, adding that customers followed him to Fish after he left Clary’s, expecting the same kind of food. “The first wave that came in were expecting fine dining. I alienated a bunch of my customers from Day 1.”

Clary said he’ll consider later whether to sell the Fish concept, which he says could have done better in another location, such as Tulsa, Okla., or St. Louis.

The new Clary’s will feature fine dining, but Clary also will offer several lower price points and a refined cuisine – a blend of French, northern Italian and American flavors.

Dave Fender declined to comment for this story, though he did note via e-mail that he still owns the Clary’s name, and no deal has been made to sell it back to Clary. Clary would not discuss ownership of the name.

New look, same traditions

After he closes Fish, Clary said he plans to spend about $60,000 renovating the interior to give it a warmer, cozier décor, with heavy drapes, darker colors and new upholstery.

He is in talks with Mary Beth O’Reilly, founder of Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks, to hold a VIP grand opening, with proceeds benefiting BCFO. Clary’s could be open for business by late July or early August.

For those who miss the old Clary’s, Clary is reinstituting a few of its traditions.

The restaurant will offer soufflés daily – “They’re what we’re known for,” Clary said – in two flavors: chocolate and a second, new flavor every night.

It was also a longstanding tradition for regular customers to hang a brass nameplate at their favorite tables at the original Clary’s. Clary said he’ll bring the approximately 800 nameplates from the old location to the new spot. New nameplates will be sold, as well, and nearly all the proceeds from those sales will benefit BCFO, Clary said.

As for the old Clary’s location, the Fenders still hold a lease with the building’s owner, The Wooten Co. Wooten Director Karen Cowan said there has been interest from other parties looking to open another restaurant in the space, but she declined to disclose names.

Clary said he would consider purchasing some of the kitchen equipment at the East Sunshine location if the Fenders sell it at auction.

Market forces

Though food is his forte, chef Clary doesn’t intend to live in the kitchen at Clary’s.

Instead, he plans to spend the bulk of his time in the dining room, living up to his pledge to make service the restaurant’s top priority.

Clary said he’ll open interviews for servers to employees of both Fish and the former Clary’s, with high standards for attitude and commitment.

That promise of quality service is key in setting Clary’s apart from other area fine-dining restaurants, Clary said. But that alone won’t ensure success, he said.

“We probably wouldn’t survive on dining room (business),” he said, adding that restaurants nowadays have to offer a package of services to stay competitive.

Clary plans to emphasize the restaurant’s catering business. He’ll also offer live cooking demonstrations during the week, live jazz on the weekends and possibly a Sunday brunch buffet.

Pat Duran, who purchased The Metropolitan Grill, 2931 E. Battlefield Road, in early 2006, agreed that succeeding as a fine-dining restaurant takes more than good food.

“You’ve got to have a passion for the business first, and not a passion for the attention or … the style of food you want to serve,” he said.

Duran said Springfield is an especially tough market for fine dining, as he estimates about 15 percent of the area’s population can afford to frequent upscale eateries – and that ratio isn’t growing.

Rebecca Flynn learned that lesson firsthand. She closed her Pairings restaurant in October. The Nixa restaurant that matched wines with entrees wasn’t popular enough with the local crowd.

“I think the majority of people want quantity, not quality, and we didn’t want to lower our standards of quality,” Flynn told Springfield Business Journal in October.

Clary reiterates that, and predicts the old Clary’s will not be the last fine-dining restaurant to close its doors in southwest Missouri.[[In-content Ad]]