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SHORT ORDERS
[ S T. L O U I S S TA N D A R D S ]
An Argument for Taste In a dispute over whether to open Grbic 30 years ago, St. Louis won Written by
CHERYL BAEHR
S
enada Grbic will never forget her mom’s reaction to the news that her dad had bought a restaurant. Though he’d been talking about doing so for years, Mrs. Grbic had assumed that her vociferous protest against such a move was enough to persuade her husband. They had three kids and were also taking care of his mother. He worked full time with a steady trucking job; she, too, worked full time. There was simply no way they could do it, she insisted. However, one day, he piled the family into the car and simply told them they were going on a ride. Along the way, Senada, her sister Erna and her brother Ermin sat in wide-eyed silence in the back seat as their parents argued in Bosnian. But it wasn’t just any argument. This was the silent kind that made them realize something big was about to go down. ou know those uiet fights are the vicious ones,” Senada laughs when she recalls the scene. “The next thing we know, my dad pulls into the parking lot of this scarylooking building. We all get out of the car, and my mom is still screaming, but my dad is laughing. I’m still not sure what she was saying, but I can hear it in my head. That’s when my dad said that he’d bought a restaurant. The three of us kids were like, ‘This is so cool!’ But my mom was still holding on to her purse for dear life.” t’s difficult to imagine there was ever a time when Senada’s mom, Ermina, was not wholly on board with opening the south St. Louis institution that bears their family’s name. Since opening in 1992, Grbic has been the most visible symbol of the impact the Bosnian community
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RIVERFRONT TIMES
The Grbic family turned what was once a run-down building into a landmark restaurant, making Bosnian food part of St. Louis. | ANDY PAULISSEN has had on the city’s food scene, thanks in no small part to Ermina’s outstanding cooking. In its nearly 30 years, the spot has grown from a simple restaurant to a massive operation that includes an events space, making it the place in town for those who want to experience traditional Bosnian cuisine, whether that means the diaspora who still wants a taste of home, their children who are eager to learn about their culture, or non-Bosnian diners getting their first taste of this rich culinary tradition. In retrospect, Ermina was destined to become the matriarch of such an establishment. Born in a small village in the former Yugoslavia, she not only grew up in the food business — she was actually birthed inside a restaurant. As Senada tells it, the event is one of the best ways you can understand her family’s commitment to the business. “My grandma actually gave birth to my mom at the restaurant, in the middle of a shift,” Senada says. “Seriously. She was working, went in the back, gave birth to my mom, cleaned her up and went back to finish her shift. That pretty much tells you everything you need to know about my
JULY 21-27, 2021
riverfronttimes.com
For some, Grbic was an introduction. For others, it was a taste of home. | ANDY PAULISSEN grandmother.” Considering the circumstances of her birth and upbringing in the restaurant, it was no surprise that Ermina would pursue cooking. As soon as she was old enough, she enrolled in culinary school, then got a job at the town’s school cafeteria, where she became a belo ed figure. eryone in the
area knew of her and, as Senada explains, she was considered the town’s sweetheart. It only made sense then that when Sulejman Grbic came back to the town from the United States to visit family, the two would be introduced. “My parents were from the same village, but they didn’t know each other because my dad is older and
