The Original Crusoe's Closes, Plans to Reopen in Bevo Mill

The Original Crusoe's (3152 Osceola Street) finally closed its doors in Dutchtown two weeks ago — eight months after owner Stevie Limmer LaChance first announced it would be shuttering.

LaChance had been buoyed by the outpouring of support for the south city mainstay , which her father founded in 1979. She grew up in the restaurant before taking over operations about a decade ago with her husband Elliot as her father dealt with Parkinson's disease.

But the restaurant's 13,000-square-foot space was just too big, and too needy, to keep Crusoe's going in its current form even with a groundswell of people coming in to eat. Last month, LaChance made the difficult decision to close for good. "I literally gave up on that building," she says. "Nobody can make money in on that building. Well, maybe someone can make money on it, but I can't."

Fans of Crusoe's fried chicken and laidback south city vibes, however, can rest assured that this is not the end. LaChance says she's signed a lease to move into a new space not too far away in Bevo Mill — 4944 Christy Avenue, the previous home of Keeton's Double Play. There, she hopes to open a new spot called Crusoe's Legacy.

She's excited about the upside. For one thing, the 3,500-square-foot space seems a lot more manageable, and it comes with its own parking lot. She foresees one bigger room, with the booths coming over from the old Crusoe's to create a dining area and high-top tables near the bar. "Same concept, but a new space," she says.

She's also looking forward to running a bar that closes at 1:30 a.m. Crusoe's 3 a.m. liquor license was not without its problems — or stressors on her personal life. "I have a three-year-old and a four-year-old," she says. "The stuff that comes after 1:30, it's not always good."

While she's sad to say goodbye to the business her father built, LaChance is also looking forward to building on his legacy in a new location. "It can't be the Original Crusoe's because the original is there," she says of the Dutchtown original. "We've been running my dad's business for a long time. It's going to be cool to have our own thing, even though my dad will still be helping with everything."

LaChance hopes to open in the new space by June.

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Editor's note: A previous version of this story included the wrong address for Keeton's. We regret the error.

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