Boogaloo down Manchester
Doug Morgan brings island and Creole cuisine to Maplewood
By Brandon Gilliam
For the St. Louis American
Doug Morgan, former co-owner of The Delmar Restaurant and Lounge in the University City Loop, will be opening a new restaurant in mid-July at 7344 Manchester Rd. in downtown Maplewood called “Boogaloo.” It will serve Cuban, Caribbean and Creole dishes.
Morgan’s partner and co-owner, Mike Johnson, is a chef. Johnson, who studied under Emerill Lagasse, is also the co-owner of MoMo’s, a Greek restaurant in U. City, and Barcelona, a Spanish restaurant in Clayton.
Morgan, 36, said he is “the first person from my family, ever, who hasn’t worked 9 to 5 for a big corporation.” He described his ethnic heritage as “Afropean,” or bi-racial, though he said “that is not significant in terms of what I have done with myself financially. I don’t give whole lot of merit to the view that where you came is who you become.”
As an entrepreneur, Morgan said he did learn some lessons at Vintage Vinyl, where he worked after a 4-year stint in the U.S. Navy.
“I worked as a buyer for Vintage Vinyl and ran their accessories department kind of separately,” he said, “so I learned how keep my own books. It was definitely a good stepping stone.”
His experience at The Delmar, which he opened in 1997 with Jim Russell, in turn paved the way for Boogaloo.
“I did not even approach a bank with my newest venture. I went strictly with private investors,” Morgan said.
“We did lot of food business at The Delmar, and that was successful. And I conducted myself above-the-board ethically. I let my track record speak for itself.”
He sold his interest in The Delmar to Russell last January, he said, “because I wanted to keep it fresh.”
Although he says the hours working in restaurants are “long and hard,” Morgan intends on staying with the service industry. He particularly enjoys neighborhood restaurants.
“Neighborhood restaurants are and should be a service to the community,” Morgan said. “They improve the quality of life.” Morgan said he wants to create a welcome and comfortable atmosphere in a place that is not your own home. He believes a good restaurant industry will attract more people to come to our city and stay.
One of Morgan’s goals is to “fill in gaps as far as things that are missing from the community in reference to restaurants and diversity.”
Morgan also serves the community as a volunteer producer and deejay for KDHX 88.1 FM, producing and hosting “The Underworld” on Thursdays from 2 to 4 p.m., playing “rock and roll, rap, reggae and soul.” Although Morgan calls this “a hobby,” he has been entertaining a radio audience for 15 years and playing the club scene for 12 years.
This father of one son and one daughter also sits on the Program Committee’s Board of Directors for KDHX.
Morgan attended McKinley High School in the City of St. Louis, and grew up in Baden.
Doug Morgan can be reached at Dmorgan@KDHX.org.
