St. Louis Commercial Photography: McCormick & Schmick's Grand Opening

I was contacted by the agency representing McCormick & Schmick's in St. Louis to come out to the seafood restaurant's grand opening and to capture the action using photography. Since I do St. Louis commercial photography and St. Louis editorial photography, I was happy to accept.

Grand openings tend to be fairly similar in structure, but not this one!

The party included not only a fish net cutting (rather than the traditional ribbon cutting) but also a "fish toss" to commemorate the first delivery of seafood to the restaurant. The term is in quotes because no fish is actually tossed at any point; it's gently handed off between the dignitaries present:

A very special guest was invited to the event: Fredbird! He's in the photo above, too - did you spot him? I freely admit that I was just as excited to see Fredbird as I was as a child going to Cardinals games. He's always quite the charmer:

There are at least two sides to every story. This alternate side was captured by Stef:

The chef is required to raise the fish high above his head for a photo op:

Lots of people worked very hard to make this event happen. Here, one of them is attacked in typical Fredbird fashion:

Check out the stained glass inside at the bar!

Last, but certainly not least, the restaurant invited a giant crab to attend the ceremony. Jake weighs 700 pounds, is 8 feet tall, with a body 17 feet wide and legs that extend another 25 feet. Fredbird's feathers aren't even ruffled with the realization that Jake could eat him as an hors d'œuvre. I kept my distance.

As big as he is, Jake is not as horrifying as the real-life Japanese spider crab. Warning: do not click that link if you want to sleep soundly ever again!