When Munsok So opened his first Drunken Fish restaurant in 2003 at Westport Plaza, he didn’t know if it’d still be standing five years later.

He also never thought he’d be following it up with two more restaurants, one in the Central West End and one on Laclede’s Landing, which is accompanied by his Xes nightclub just beneath it.

For So, Drunken Fish is all about “bringing a concept to St. Louis that it hadn’t seen before, and making it fun, exciting and different.”

That concept brings together Japanese cuisine with hip ambiance. He says the concept is inspired by things he saw on the East and West Coasts, and overseas.

So hopes to expand the Drunken Fish franchise outside of St. Louis, with the first opening in Kansas City in about two years.

The fifth anniversary party for the Westport Drunken Fish begins at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Laclede’s Landing Drunken Fish, 612 North Second Street, because that location is the largest. The party, featuring the Perry Woods Experience and DJ Kue, is free and open to the public.

The after-party at Xes features DJ D Double.

Xes, meanwhile, is taking on a life of its own outside of Drunken Fish. While So says Xes’ first year was slow as it tried to find its identity, that has since changed. Now, they’re doing well with Industry Night on Wednesdays, Urban Night on Sundays, and big nights Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Also, the new Asian Night, the first Friday of the month, is an early success. “There’s not a big Asian community in St. Louis, so I figured why not do a little niche crowd event and see how it goes. People really look forward to it.”

RSVP to the party at dmdrunkenfish@aol.com. Get more information at www.drunken-fish.com.