Rapper Nelly's New Restaurant: Mack's Bar and Grill in Hazelwood, MO

Recently, I took a trip to Nelly and his band mates' (the St. Lunatics) new restaurant, Mack's Bar & Grill (named after members Murphy Lee, Ali, Cornell (Nelly), Kyjuan, and Slow Down Hype Man; also coinciding with Nelly's mother's last name, Mack). Okay, so I guess it isn't THAT new; they got it up and running around September of 2006 after delaying the grand opening for about five months due to complications with permits in the city of Hazelwood. However, in the whole scheme of things, it's pretty new, and still pretty exciting to us Hazelwood residents who are used to having to journey about 15 miles to the city limits of St. Louis for any hint of stardom.

Not following my original desire of arriving bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on the day of their grand opening, I decided to wait a few weeks to allow them to settle in and give my groupie feelings time to calm. When I'd decided it was time, I hopped in my car and made the two-minute excursion from my home to what I thought might be a local Mecca of entertainment and stardom. I must say that while I wasn't greeted with the excitement that I might expect at P. Diddy's Justin's restaurant (rats!), I wasn't disappointed in the least.

The first thing I noticed was that the area that they chose was a bit secluded, on a sort of back road in Hazelwood. This immediately gave me the impression that they were taking their bar and grill seriously, not just wanting to open a local attraction in the center of downtown pushed by the Nelly Empire. Also, knowing my area, I understood that there were only so many places that they could have used as a restaurant location, so their choice (within a small strip mall and next-door to a barber shop) was not too bad. However, a well-intended out-of-towner wanting to visit their location might use 20 minutes to drive around in circles to no avail then trek to a more obviously located fast food restaurant.

As for parking, because the strip mall is small, the parking availability is not ample, leaving room for about 15 cars (more if they spill over into the barber shop's parking). When I pulled up however, on a Saturday afternoon, there were about eight cars there, so parking was not an issue.

As I walked up to the building, I noticed the immediate familiarity of a classic bar and grill: neon beer signs in the window and what looked to be a pool table inside. Seeing that, I prepared myself for what I thought would be a smoky bar with loud toughies arguing over a dart or pool game. But when I walked inside, I found something very different: a calming, family-oriented setting with children running around and a baseball game playing on the television.

Before the door closed behind me, I was greeted by several smiling patrons sitting at the bar straight ahead. Feeling welcomed, I walked up to the bar and took a seat waiting for someone to bring me a menu. At that moment, a nice young woman gave me a smile and handed me a menu. Immediately, she began to explain the type of food they served, which was similar to most bar and grills: chicken sandwiches, hamburgers and fries, etc. She explained however that one difference in their restaurant was their inclusion of the Veggie Burger (I assume because Nelly and the St. Lunatics are vegetarians). Feeling adventurous, I decided to try the Veggie Burger, which she said was a good choice and a good price, about $6 (average items are in the $6 - $10 range).

After she took my menu and placed my order I relaxed and took in the scenery. On my left was a small game area with a pool table next to some tables for dining. On my right were more tables for dining. Overall, it was small, quaint and friendly - nice. As I sat there taking it all in, a lady sat down at the bar next to me and asked how I liked the place. I told her it was pretty nice. As I looked at her face, I immediately recognized her as Nelly's mother (I'd seen her on a few MTV specials). She sat with me as if I were an old friend and told me about how happy she was to have the place up and running. I loved her personality and connected with her obvious personal and emotional investment in the restaurant. It was clearly her "baby" and she was proud.

After we'd talked about five minutes longer, the bartender brought out my meal, piping hot and ready to eat. I was tempted to stay at the bar and eat my meal with Nelly's mom, but decided against it not wanting to fall prey to "star struck-dom," so instead, I paid for my meal with my debit card (they take credit, debit and cash), said my goodbyes to the smiling patrons, and took my tasty Veggie Burger and fries home.

As I drove home, I thought about how different Mack's Bar and Grill was from what I'd originally expected. There were no petite women in even more petite outfits serving food as their body parts spilled out of their clothes. There were no guest appearances from record deal seekers playing their original pieces while dining patrons tried to engage them between bites. There was only the feeling of a close-knit family sharing their recipes with the extended family called their city. The only difference was this family happens to be famous. If all famous families were so welcoming.

If you're ever in town, visit Mack's Bar & Grill. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Mack's Bar & Grill

6827 Howdershell Rd
Hazelwood, MO 63042

(314) 551-9977