As of three weeks ago, Toast Tavern has officially closed their doors.
Toast Tavern was located at 1215 West Chester Pike, just beyond the outskirts of town. Their parking lot now sits empty, their signs have been cleared out, ovens have been switched off and as of today their website is gone.
Toast Tavern recently emerged onto the West Chester dining scene in February, after it replaced Crawdaddy’s Bayou Bar and Grill, which closed after 18 years in January. Rob Trabbold, owner of Toast Tavern and Crawdaddy’s, spent nine months brainstorming Toast Tavern’s large menu with Executive Chef Dan Funk from New Orleans Cafe.
Toast Tavern’s original goal was to open an upscale restaurant with global infusion outside of the borough. The original menu sported dishes from 20 regions and six
continents around the world and its dining room resembled a melting pot of global memorabilia.Their passport driven menu was paired with a large selection of international wines and beers.
It also had its own tavern with a darker ambiance and a simpler menu made up of sandwiches, cheese steaks, Shepherd ‘s Pie and other classic dishes. After a long and tight winter, the owners noticed that the tavern was busier than the dining room and Toast Tavern’s menu received a revamp in June. Many of their original international dishes were replaced with popular tavern foods.
In June, Trabbold told the Daily Local, “We are making some changes here and we are going to try to cater to the masses and try to create a menu to keep the volume of people showing up. We are trying to simplify our beer list and simplify our wines. We are going to do something easier for our customers to understand and go with a more simplified bar/ tavern menu.”
Unfortunately, chicken fingers and cheese steaks were not enough to keep this tavern afloat through this faltering economy. Did you ever dine at Toast Tavern? What was your experience like?
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