{From left, Patrick and Suzanne Connolly in their home}
Chef Patrick Connolly is no longer at the helm of Basso, the Italian gastropub in the basement of The Restaurant at The Cheshire. The James Beard Award-winning chef confirmed he has left St. Louis, moving back to the East Coast with his wife, Suzanne Connolly. His last day at Basso was Dec. 22, 2014.
Connolly said after two years with Lodging Hospitality Management, the company that owned Basso, it was time to move on. “It was never the right fit,” Connolly said. “I love the O’Loughlins and I love my team at Basso, but it was tough … It’s a hotel company and it never quite fit into the way that I run a kitchen.”
Connolly arrived in St. Louis in November 2012 and helped open doors at Basso just 19 days after moving in. A St. Louis native, Connolly made a name for himself in New York City, earning a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northeast in 2008.
LHM president Steve O’Loughlin said he was sorry to see Connolly go but was not surprised by the decision. “His ultimate dream is to open up his own place, and I feel fortunate that he helped us get off the ground and get us where we are now,” O’Loughlin said. “I just wish it was longer … I was just hoping he would love St. Louis and maybe change his mind, and end up staying with us.”
Connolly said currently he plans to move to Philadelphia to assist a friend with his three restaurants. Though he has no immediate plans, the chef said he does intend to open his own restaurant one day in New York. The move also allows the Connollys, including their new child, to be closer to his wife’s family. “It was more of a personal decision to move back east,” he said.
O’Loughlin said Rex Hale, executive chef at The Restaurant at The Cheshire, now oversees all culinary operations at The Cheshire. “The idea is to still embrace what Patrick has downstairs,” O’Loughlin said. “I don’t want to tweak too much that’s going on down there. I love everything that Patrick has done … I can’t wait to see what he creates in New York.”
-photo by Greg Rannells
This article appears in January 2015.