Sedona Bistro — Unexpected career changes lead to new restaurant

It's often said when one door closes, another opens.

In the case of Ron and Kristi Brzycki, the open door led to Sedona Bistro, their new restaurant in Cape Girardeau.

The bistro, at 1812 Carondalet Drive in the former location of Beef 'O' Brady's, offers a lunch and dinner fare of soups, salads and sandwiches. It also features beer and wine service in a casual dining atmosphere, with indoor and outdoor seating.

After a "quiet" opening earlier this month, Sedona Bistro will "officially" open following a ribbon-cutting scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The Brzyckis aspired to open a restaurant for years, but it wasn't until big changes happened in both their careers that they decided the time was right to do it.

A ribbon-cutting and grand opening for Sedona Bistro, 1812 Carondalet Drive in Cape Girardeau, is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday.Jay Wolz

Ron has been in the restaurant industry since he was around 10 years old, helping his parents at a Heritage House Smorgasbord in the St. Charles, Missouri, area.

"My brother and I would pick up trash and things like that," he said. "We did odd jobs, worked our way up to be cooks, then I became a night supervisor there when I was 16."

From there, he spent 17 years at Wiliker's Restaurant and Bar, often voted one of the best restaurants in St. Charles, where he worked his way up to eventually become kitchen manager.

"We were a scratch kitchen, meaning we made everything from scratch — soups, sauces, everything," he said.

Ron left Wiliker's when he was 32 and decided to explore the "corporate" side of the food and beverage industry. He joined O'Charley's and spent 10 years with that chain, twice named general manager of the year.

Sedona Bistro staff take orders from customers inside the new restaurant, which is in a location formerly occupied by Beef 'O' Brady's.Jay Wolz

It was while working at O'Charley's that he met Kristi who had, herself, worked her way up through the ranks of various restaurant positions.

"She waited tables, bartended and worked all other realms before getting into management," Ron said.

When Ron met Kristi, she was a market auditor for O'Charley's and managing one of the company's restaurants.

"We started in O'Fallon, Missouri, and then I was transferred to Marion, Illinois, and Kristi came to the Cape Girardeau O'Charley's about 10 years ago," Ron explained. "Then I went to Logan's and was general manager with them for a couple of years and became director of operations with stores throughout the Midwest."

That was before CraftWorks Holdings, the parent company of the Logan's Roadhouse chain, was hit with a double whammy last spring — bankruptcy and the COVID-19 pandemic. CraftWorks closed all of its restaurants, including its Cape Girardeau location, furloughing thousands of employees, including Ron. Although Logan's has reopened its Cape Girardeau location, Ron did not return to the company.

Meanwhile, the O'Charley's restaurant chain also went through fiscal challenges, closing its Cape Girardeau location in the spring of 2019.

With more than 65 combined years of restaurant experience and their careers at Logan's and O'Charley's behind them, Ron and Kristi suddenly had a chance to chart their own future.

And, as fate would have it, Beef 'O' Brady's closed earlier this year, making an established restaurant location available for a new tenant.

"We decided there wasn't a better time than right now," Kristi said.

"All the ducks lined up," Ron added. "It was always a dream, but I'm 52 years old and thought, 'If I don't do it now, I'll never do it.'"

As for the "Sedona" name, Ron gives credit to Kristi.

"She lived in Arizona for a while and loved Sedona," he said. "She loved the town's spiritualness and how it made you feel. So when people walk in, we want them to have that same feeling of peacefulness. We want them to relax and enjoy themselves."

The restaurant's full name, Ron said, was going to be Sedona Grill.

"We had plans for a big restaurant, but when this opportunity came, and with the style of kitchen it had, we decided to do a bistro with soups and sandwiches, but to do it with a 'scratch kitchen' feel," he said.

Both the inside and patio seating areas have a rustic "Southwest" feel with stone accents and earth tones throughout.

Opening during the coronavirus pandemic has posted some challenges, but Ron and Kristi say the indoor and outside areas offer ample space for social distancing.

"We're able to space people out according to the regulations we've been given," Kristi said.

In addition to inside and outside dining, Sedona Bistro offers to-go ordering and will soon provide a delivery option through local food delivery services. Sedona Bistro's menu may be found online at sedonacape.com.

Sedona Bistro is open from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The phone number is (573) 803-5000.

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