La Roux Bistro to open next week

A French-style restaurant announced in March by Commercial Street restaurateur Joe Gidman is scheduled to open next week.

La Roux Bistro announced on Facebook that it would open to customers at 11 a.m. on July 21. The restaurant is located at 300 E. Commercial St., at the intersection with Robberson Avenue. 

"Bear with us as we get our feet wet, but we will do our best to create an authentic experience and build a lasting memory," Gidman wrote in a July 12 post on the restaurant's Facebook page.

That post also unveiled La Roux Bistro's opening menu that includes oysters, charcuterie, entrees such as the eggplant Napoleon and smothered redfish, sandwiches and a variety of wines and cocktails.

"We will be building up our by-the-bottle list as time goes on and hope to eventually have the largest bottle list of French wines in Missouri (at least on C-Street)," Gidman wrote in the post.

The C-Street building is owned by Northbridge 300 LLC, with the Greene County assessor listing the square footage at roughly 6,200. The Missouri secretary of state filing for that LLC lists Joseph Hosmer as the registered agent and member. Hosmer is also on the September 2024 La Roux LLC secretary of state filing with Gidman and Rodrigo Cabrejos.

The building in recent years has been targeted for separate projects by businesspeople Tom Muetzel and Drake Tillman.

During the development project for Muetzel's planned relaunch of Ophelia’s at the building, an underground cellar was discovered in 2017 during the rehabilitation of the over 150-year-old structure. 

Gidman has had business operations on C-Street for more than a decade.

Cafe Cusco, influenced by Peruvian culture, opened in 2013, followed by his Chabom Tea & Spices store in 2015 and the Netherlands-inspired Van Gogh’s Eeterie in 2018. Gidman partnered with his mother, Claire Gidman, on those businesses, according to past reporting.