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It was the logical next step.
Carl and Nancy McConnell, owners of Stone Soup Cottage (SLM’s Restaurant of the Year in 2010), have purchased a 6.5-acre parcel from the Wiese family, whose Wiese Nursery has supplied the bulk of vegetables and herbs for the Cottleville restaurant since its inception five years ago.
The Wieses' farm is located “literally one minute from where we are now,” says Carl, adding that the move presents the perfect opportunity to grow—albeit ever so slightly.
Two barns on the property will provide wood to build a new structure, if you will, that will mimic the charm of the existing 1850s-style farmhouse. To that end, the McConnells have retained Lauren Strutman, a renowned St. Louis architect who's experienced in reconstructing barns and homes on existing footprints of older structures.
Alas, before unruly mobs form and naysayers have a chance to nay, let it be known that Stone Soup's underlying concept—the magic formula that's generated a six-month-long reservation list—will not change: There’ll still be one seating per evening, six courses with paired wines, and eight tables. The intimacy factor and the rustic elegance will not change either, nor will the attention to detail. Carl will continue to torch crème brulees tableside, and Nancy will continue to serve as consummate host and friend. The McConnells describe the move as “not expanding, just changing venues,” adding that “all existing reservations will transfer right along with us.”
If anything, the experience should be enhanced. Creating a new space provides Stone Soup with an opportunity to host additional functions in a satellite room, something not possible in the existing farmhouse.
The new, “rural” location approaches the pure farm-to-fork model even more closely than the “city” location in Cottleville. There are three existing hothouses and two greenhouses on the property, providing guests with precise provenance for that evening’s Butternut Squash Tartlet and Potatoes Anna. In short, the new location will crystallize the essence of farm-to-fork dining—it could only be more authentic if you gathered the produce yourself.
Carl says the farm was able to sustain the restaurant through the winter, supplying herbs and dwarf varieties of vegetables, including baby turnips, heirloom carrots, and petite leeks. Look inside one of the farm’s greenhouses today, and you’ll see tomato plants, the precursor of an early summer bounty. Norman will continue to grow vegetables on the property, both to supply the restaurant and to sell at retail.
The McConnells plan to develop the land even more fully and sustainably, believing it's the most reasonable, prudent way to expand the restaurant's brand. Carl is restoring the farm’s idle chicken coop, meaning farm eggs will be fresher than ever. That 1930s smokehouse on the property? He’s restoring that, too. The cider press from 1898? It might squeeze once again in 2013. Carl even enlisted his father in the cause: His parents are moving to the area, so Dad can be his son’s full-time gardener… Grab that brush, Norman Rockwell.
Education also has become important to the McConnells. In addition to conducting public cooking classes (and publishing his first recipe book), Carl is now mentoring students in the culinary department at nearby Francis Howell High School. With an offsite facility equipped with such amenities as a smokehouse, chicken coop, and top-notch chef, we're betting McConnells' classes will book up as fast as his dinners.
The new Stone Soup Cottage is slated for completion by this fall—which means you should consider booking a table now.
