“You wanna go where everybody knows your name.”
The lyrics to the popular theme song of “Cheers” perfectly encapsulates what the Weber’s Front Row – Webster Groves experience was like for Webster University class of ‘99 alums Kevin Duy and Chad Cross.
8169 Big Bend Blvd. has been the home of Weber’s Front Row – Webster Groves since 1992. Now after 32 years, Weber’s will close Feb. 25. In a Facebook post, the restaurant announced the closure, citing disagreements on the purchase price for the Webster Groves building.
On a normal day, Weber’s boasted a vibrant atmosphere in which the music playing through the speakers was nearly impossible to hear over conversations. However, on the night of 9/11, Cross found himself in a crowded Weber’s with each patron hanging onto every word of President Bush addressing a grieving nation.
“There were no strangers that evening,” Cross said. “To be in a familiar place and around people you love was important that night.”
At the heart of what made Weber’s a staple, what brought people back over and over again, is community.
“You always know what to expect when you walk through those doors,” Cross said.
As for Kevin Duy, he and his wife were high school sweethearts and Webster graduates. The couple frequented Weber’s during their time at Webster. After college, they started a family, soon bringing their kids with them to their favorite college spot.
“Weber’s kind of transitioned with us,” Duy said. “When we were young and in college, it was a great bar-type atmosphere, but when we started having kids in our early 20’s they expanded into a more family friendly section and it was perfect.”
For Owner Bob Weber, Webster Groves has been a part of his lineage for over 50 years.
“Webster was kind of just like a huge extended family for me,” Weber explains.
Growing up around the corner from his now beloved establishment, a 28-year-old Bob opened the restaurant on a ‘crazy whim’ and the idea that Webster Groves needed its own distinct neighborhood bar and grill.
“It was more of the love for the neighborhood and where I grew up than it was being a great chef,” Weber said with a laugh.
Webster University is an essential element of the neighborhood, and has greatly impacted the trajectory of Weber’s, diversifying the clientele and character of the restaurant significantly.
“I think it has added quite a bit to the whole atmosphere. There’s so many people from literally all over the world that have come here from Webster University. Just a big plus for us all the time,” Weber said.
Weber said he is searching for a new home for the restaurant. While Webster Groves is not out of the question for a new location, there is no guarantee where or what this next iteration of Weber’s will be.
“We are trying to find something that would be similar, or possibly have a little bit of a smaller footprint,” Bob commented.
Whether he is aware of it or not, Weber’s love of this neighborhood seeps into every aspect of the now locally iconic sport’s bar.
While the doors may be closing, the communities built at Weber’s won’t be leaving anytime soon.
“It’s more than just a neighborhood restaurant,” Weber said.
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Brian Rubin
