ST. LOUIS, MO - August 20, 2026 (StLouisRestaurantReview.com) Baia, a new Italian restaurant built around handmade pasta, seafood, Italian wine, and aperitivo culture, opens Thursday, August 20, at 4199 Manchester Avenue in The Grove, bringing another locally developed dining concept to one of StLouis's' busiest restaurant districts.


The approximately 1,600-square-foot restaurant occupies the former Taha'a'a Twisted Tiki space and comes from the hospitality team behind Good Company and Aperi. The opening follows several months of delays related to construction permits and inspections; Baia had previously been targeted for a May debut.


The restaurant's name offers an immediate clue to its identity. Baia means "bay" in Italian, a reference that fits the restaurant's Italian Riviera-inspired design and coastal influences. Although its name and atmosphere draw from Italy's coast, the kitchen isn't limited to one Italian region.

Handmade pasta is at the heart of Baia.


Executive chef Jon Priestley helped develop Baia around the idea of a smaller, focused Italian restaurant where handmade pasta takes center stage. Priestley's Italian cooking background includes previous work as a sous chef at O+O Pizza and The Clover + The Bee. He has also overseen culinary operations at Good Company and Aperi.


The open kitchen makes the cooking process part of the restaurant experience. About one-third of Baia's roughly 1,600 square feet is dedicated to the kitchen, and counter seating gives diners a chance to watch pasta being made during service. Baia's menu follows the traditional Italian progression of antipasti, primi and secondi. The opening pasta selection was planned at approximately eight dishes, incorporating both long noodles and stuffed pasta, with selections expected to change regularly. Protein-focused secondi provide another dimension to the menu.


Seafood also plays an important role, but Baia should not be mistaken for a strictly seafood restaurant. Goodman has previously explained that the culinary team intends to draw inspiration from across Italy rather than restrict the kitchen to one region.


That distinction may prove important for diners deciding what to expect. Baia is fundamentally an Italian restaurant with handmade pasta at its core rather than a narrowly defined coastal seafood concept.

Baia brings Italian drinking culture to The Grove


The Italian influence extends beyond the kitchen.


Bar manager Maddy Knutson leads a beverage program centered on Italian wine and cocktails. Plans include Italian reds and whites, sparkling selections and skin-contact wines alongside aperitivo-style cocktails, amari and a substantial martini program.


The beverage component should allow Baia to operate as more than a destination for a conventional multi-course dinner.


Aperitivo culture centers on drinks and small bites before a meal, and Baia's mix of wine, cocktails, and food lets the restaurant appeal to diners looking for anything from drinks and a lighter meal to a longer dinner.


That versatility makes sense in The Grove, where restaurants, cocktail bars and entertainment businesses coexist along Manchester Avenue.

Italian Riviera influence: Baia's coastal identity carries through its physical design.


Studio DVLP led the architecture and design, while Clover & Kith Creative handled branding. Earlier plans called for bright blues and oranges inspired by the Italian Riviera, complemented by an open-kitchen layout. HollHennessey's's artwork was also planned for the restaurant.


The result is intended to connect the restaurant's name, food and surroundings.


Baia — literally a bay or cove — is therefore more than simply a restaurant name. It provides the theme connecting the Italian food, coastal visual influences and eventual outdoor experience.


The indoor restaurant is only the first stage of the project.

Baia plans to add an Italian wine garden.


The Manchester Avenue property gives the owners significant room behind the restaurant, and plans call for that area eventually to become an Italian-inspired wine garden.


The proposed outdoor development includes a large patio, covered bar, fenced green space and eventually bocce courts. Goodman has described the concept as an outdoor area where guests can spend time drinking wine in a setting reminiscent of an Italian picnic or garden.


The outdoor area is not part of Baia's initial opening and is expected to be developed later.


If completed as envisioned, it could become one of the restaurant's most distinguishing features. The combination of an intimate pasta-focused restaurant and a considerably larger outdoor wine garden would give Baia different ways to serve customers depending on the season and occasion.

Baia operates under 4199 Pasta LLC.


The public-facing restaurant name is Baia, but the business structure behind the restaurant includes a separate legal entity.


4199 Pasta LLC is associated with the restaurant, with Baia used as its fictitious business name. The legal-business information provides additional context about the company operating from 4199 Manchester Ave.


Jordan Goodman is publicly identified with the restaurant and the broader hospitality operation behind it. St. Louis Magazine recently recognized Goodman for his growing restaurant portfolio, noting the concentration of Good Company, Aperi, Chico Bueno, Malo and Baia in The Grove.


That growing portfolio is significant because the restaurants are not simply additional locations of one chain.


Each has been developed with a separate identity and culinary direction, giving the hospitality group several different concepts concentrated within the same St. Louis neighborhood.

FroTaha'a'a to an Italian restaurant


The building itself has a restaurant history familiar to people who regularly visit The Grove.


Baia occupies the former Twisted Tiki location at 4199 Manchester Ave. The opportunity to acquire the property actually came before the Baia concept was fully developed.


According to earlier reporting by Sauce Magazine, Goodman and his team were approached about the property and acquired the building without initially having a specific restaurant in mind. Conversations with Priestley about the chef's idea for a small handmade-pasta restaurant eventually provided the direction.


That origin helps explain why Baia feels closely connected to its location.


Instead of finding a building to fit a predetermined restaurant concept, the team acquired the property. Then it developed a restaurant that could take advantage of the relatively intimate interior and substantial outdoor space.

Good Hospitality continues growing in The Grove.


Baia also arrives during a particularly active period for Good Hospitality and its affiliated concepts.


The group recently added Chico Bueno and Malo to its collection of Grove restaurants. Those businesses joined Good Company and Aperi, and Baia now extends the group's culinary range into Italian cooking. Goodman's restaurant activities initially grew out of Good Ice, a clear-ice company supplying restaurants and bars around St. Louis. The business eventually expanded into hospitality concepts, building a portfolio that now includes several distinct operations.


The concentration of those restaurants in The Grove represents a notable investment in the neighborhood.


For customers, however, the ultimate measure of Baia will be much simpler: the food, drinks, service and consistency of the experience after the excitement surrounding its opening settles down.

Baia adds another distinctive restaurant to St. Louis


Baia enters a St. Louis Italian restaurant market with deep roots and considerable competition.


Rather than attempting to duplicate the traditional Italian-American restaurants long associated with the region, Baia is taking a different approach. Handmade pasta, a rotating menu, seafood, Italian wine, aperitivo-style cocktails and a contemporary Riviera-inspired environment define the concept.


The planned wine garden could further expand that identity.


For now, the focus is on the restaurant itself and the kitchen that inspired it. Baia's opening transforms a former tiki restaurant into an intimate Italian dining destination where customers can sit near the open kitchen and watch fresh pasta being made.


Its simple name summarizes much of what the team is trying to create: Baia means" b" y" o" "co" e" in Italian, tying together the restaurant's coastal inspiration, Italian cooking, and eventual outdoor wine-garden experience.

NOTE: The image used is from BigStockPhoto.com and is used as a generic image. This is not intended to represent the food offered by Baia. https://stlouisrestaurantreview.com/baia-opens-in-the-grove-italian-dining/