“(Customers) have been very pleased with the fact that now the actual cocktails are served on the bluff overlooking the river,” Atkins said. “Most folks will get their chairs and go out on the deck and watch the sunset on the river from there.”

BriarVue manager Sammy Atkins, who is Leon’s brother and the owner of Andrew’s Tavern, said the view from the deck is a unique one, even in an area where other sites can be scouted on the bluffs.

“BriarVue is on the highest point on the river south of St. Louis, so you can see about 10 miles — people love the view here, and the sunset is spectacular,” Sammy said.

While Cocktails at Sunset offers a full service bar and free hors d’oeuvres, it’s not the only service BriarVue offers. It also has a full restaurant with a revamped menu that is open seven days a week, though by reservation only.

“Everything is new here,” Sammy said. “Basically, it is steak, seafood, some other things we are throwing in there. We only use prime USDA beef; it is tender to the cut of the fork, and you can’t find that anywhere around town — it is a very, very good cut of meat.”

The restaurant will also start serving a Sunday brunch sometime in the near future, and Sammy said the menu for that is a work in progress.

“It would have shrimp and grits,” he said. “We have been noted for those in our bed and breakfast, we know people really like those, along with some other brunch items to be determined.”

“We will serve Mimosas and Bloody Marys for sure.”

The restaurant opened in mid-October, and Sammy said it went into full-swing in late January, with him taking over in early February.

As part of the re-launch of BriarVue, Leon said some redecorating was done and it was outfitted to host guests.

“It has always been a very striking building, but we just refurnished it and have broken the rooms up into suites for bed and breakfast guests,” he said.

A lot of other work was done to ensure the view as well, Sammy said.

“The whole property is 19 acres, and it was overgrown, and has taken until a month ago to get the property back to looking like it did (in the past).”

For those who want to see the view for themselves, Cocktails at Sunset is from 5 to 9 p.m. every Thursday.