The historic Rosati Winery and Museum along Route 66 near St. James, Missouri, will reopen by spring after being closed for almost a decade, said one of the principals.
Jacob Stotler, who will run the museum, said in a phone interview that local caterer Deb Branson will open a restaurant at the facility, along with a space for events.
Branson ran the St. James Marketplace Cafe, but her business was hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. She turned to catering and was looking for a new space and a house. The Rosati Winery and Museum, which closed in 2016, offered both.
Branson made the announcement of her acquisition on Facebook:
Stotler said the plan is to reopen the facility by late March, noting the complex was “not in terrible shape” and required fewer repairs than expected.
The restaurant will serve homestyle cafe food, along with a lot of Italian dishes, Stotler said.
The restaurant won’t serve alcohol for now, as the purchase did not include nearby vineyards. Stotler said Branson would like to get an alcohol license in the future.
Stotler said he’ll run the museum portion of the complex, citing his previous experience with interpretation centers at other Missouri parks.
“I’m going to add more Route 66 material,” he said, noting the museum previously didn’t have much about the winery’s proximity to Route 66.
The Rosati Winery opened in 1934 and has been added on to over the years. The museum showed vintage wine-making equipment, old photographs, documents or ledgers of the 1930s and ’40s winery era, vintage wine bottles and more.
(Screen-capture image from Facebook video of Deb Branson announcing her acquisition of the Rosati Winery and Museum near St. James, Missouri)