Hope Runs High for Frontenac Grill (formerly Old Blue Eyes).

The fromer Coco’s building at Old Frontenac Square, 731 S. Lindbergh Blvd., is hoping to find new life as the Frontenac Grill once a couple of problems are solved. 

Long time St. Louis restaurateur Mike Faille (aka Mike Talayna) has dreamed of having an upscale Italian restaurant at this site.

Last year, he suffered a massive heart attack and the project languished while he recovered.

During this time, the liquor license previously held at the location expired, and residents to the west signed a petition asking the city not to issue a new one.

General Manager and Chef Andrew Laidlie, formerly of Annie Gunn’s, said, “The residents on Cable Avenue which backs up behind the restaurant are concerned about liquor being served around their children. Frontenac Grill understands that and we plan to be a responsible liquor provider. We’re the new guy on the block and they’ve had 10 years with no restaurant. I don’t blame them for voicing their concerns.”

The liquor license issue will be discussed at a public hearing at the Frontenac Board of Aldermen meeting on October 18.

Laidlie said that if the liquor license is approved, he expects to open by October 22.

Then came the problem with the new name, “Old Blue Eyes.”

Part of Faille’s dream was having his restaurant be reminiscent of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack’s Las Vegas heyday. The Sinatra estate attorneys thought otherwise.

“The majority of the pictures we reproduced was unlicensed,” Laidlie said. “We were using ‘Old,’ not ‘Ol,’ but there is an area of the law called intellectual rights and when you group together pictures, song titles, or sayings, it looks like the Sinatra estate is endorsing our restaurant.

“We came to a compromise,” Laidlie said. “Even though we changed the name to Frontenac Grill, the restaurant will still have a 40’s theme.”

Laidlie expanded the building from its original 4800 square feet to 5700 square feet, mostly to accommodate a large bar which will seat 45 people.  The spacious interior retained the original Coco’s skylight, and features cozy table and banquettes for 135 diners.

“Changing the name was distressing,” Laidlie said. “We are not necessarily a grill house. It’s going to be upscale Italian, with Angus and prime grade beef, Italian entrees like chicken Marsala and veal piccata. I’m traditional with Italian dishes. Plus we’ll have the best pizza in St. Louis.

“Mike has run pizza joints and night clubs around town for 40 years,” Laidlie said. “He always wanted to open a Vegas-style restaurant with dark woods, the Vegas feel.

“We’ll run a limited late night menu until 12:30 a.m.,” he said. “You can stop by on the way home from a ball game or concert and get a good meal. Coco’s used to be the neighborhood hang-out and we want to provide the same feeling that Coco’s did.”