The role of restaurant owners and musicians is very similar. To create their art, they need to know how to combine elements to create one cohesive-and appealing-final result. The combination of these elements, however, is sometimes elusive, which is obviously why so many restaurants and songs are unsuccessful. You can’t define artistic success-it’s just the byproduct of a true artist-someone who can appeal to us through what they create.
Dennis Gorg is an artist. He is the owner of After, a new 24-hour diner on 4146 Manchester Ave. (only minutes away from Saint Louis University). Even when the many facets that characterize the restaurant are taken into account, it still maintains an immaculate balance. The key to this, according to Gorg, is comfort.
The name After was natural for Gorg. “I was always trying to explain the concept, and I kept saying ‘After,'” he said. “There are so many things to do in St. Louis, and I wanted to provide a place you could go afterward.”
The menu is massive. All types of food are served all day. And the food isn’t typical, run-of-the-mill greasy spoon fare. There’s definitely a lot of pride in the dishes, verifiable by the appearance and taste of the food. All of the best foods are on the menu-that includes waffles, pancakes, cheeseburgers, pies, chicken fingers, etc. All of these food items are served up with home-style pride and dedication to quality, but also with a commercial penchant for cleanliness and presentation.
After is divided into two areas: a traditional diner eating area with a bar facing the kitchen, and another room with some more tables for dining and an area for games. There’s a pool table, an Internet jukebox and an array of board games that are more diverse than the grades of an organic chemistry final. These various forms of entertainment complement the food in the same way that a good bass line fills in the spaces between the lead guitar’s syncopation.
The emergence of spring has brought yet another opportunity for Gorg to expand After’s appeal. “We just finished adding 40 seats to the outdoor patio, where we’re also going to be having live music,” said Gorg.
One would think that the combination of all of these good things would create an over-stimulated eating environment, like throwing all the available spices in the pot because of the mere misinformed notion that “more is better.” But what separates After from any other all-night diner is the fact that it serves multiple purposes, all in the context of a very comfortable and laid-back atmosphere.
Gorg wanted the feeling of comfort to be pervasive, so he crafted his restaurant around an aesthetic strictly based on comfort. For example, upon entering the restaurant, one will notice the aged quality of the surroundings, even though the restaurant is new. “We wanted to make it look like it has been there a while,” said Gorg. “We distressed the walls to make them look old.” The result is a restaurant without pretense-a restaurant designed to be as homey as home.
In short, After has all of the prerequisites for being the perfect college-student destination. It has the convenience and accessibility of being open all day, and, by extension, it has good coffee to keep the patrons fueled during the bleary-eyed hours. It features a menu that has food choices to appeal to any gluttonous craving. It has great games. But, most of all, it has feng shui-a perfection of peaceful balance in the design that can’t necessarily be critically decoded, but it can be felt deep within.
So, that satisfying fullness in your stomach you’ll feel after you scarf down the triple-baked mac and cheese is not only the result of an excellent meal, but it’s also your physical response to the homey nature of After. In the same way, it just feels good to be home, the subtle comforts of eating at After shooting right past your literal mind and satisfy you viscerally.
