“It’s kind of a lifestyle synergy thing for me,” said Cary McDowell today by phone from Clarksville, Mo. “I spent some time up here and I really liked it. It reminds me of the part of Tennessee I’m from — there’s some really good karma.”
And starting this week, McDowell will be splitting his time between the popular new restaurant Revival near the SLU med campus and Clarksville Station, St. Louisan Nathalie Pettus’ restaurant, bakery and store on the banks of the Mississippi about 75 northwest of downtown St. Louis.
Clarksville Station is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. For the time being, McDowell is evaluating the restaurant’s operations and menu, with no big changes planned for the next few months. On a longer term basis, however, he hopes to turn Clarksville Station into a destination spot for avid St. Louis-area diners and cooks, hosting special dinners and perhaps even weekend-long cooking classes with lodging at Pettus’ and other local bed-and-breakfasts.
What’s more, McDowell plans to use both garden space and a local farm to raise produce. “The idea is to grow a bunch of stuff we can use in both restaurants,” McDowell said, adding that he’s also hoping to raise his own chickens in Clarksville. A cheesemaking operation is also a possibility in the longer term.
“I spent a lot of time thinking about this,” McDowell said. “I was really hesitant to let go of Revival, but I’m very confident in Chris Bork and the people we have in place there and with the style of the food. We’ve always been interested in growing the Revival concept responsibly, and this seemed to be a perfect way to do it.”
The dining room at Clarksville Station holds about 75. The restaurant is at 901 South Highway 79, which is reached from the St. Louis area by taking I-70 west from St. Charles to the Highway 79 exit toward Elsberry and Louisana. Clarksville is 44 miles up Highway 79 from there. (There’s also a way to take 40/64 to U.S. 61 past Wentzville to Eolia, but I’ll leave you to Mapquest that one.) The phone is 573-242-3838.