Is Stone Soup Cottage in Cottleville currently open or closed? —Rick B., St. Louis
To put the query in context, the questioner had read that owners Carl and Nancy McConnell had closed the famed restaurant and then heard (and read) about ongoing dinners and ancillary experiences.
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While it’s true that the last service for its weekly tasting dinners was held in June 2022, “we never really closed,” Nancy says. Instead, the couple took some time to refocus and transition Stone Soup into more of a special experience venue.
Beginning in the fall, the McConnells hosted several multi-night pop-up dinners under the moniker “Le Champ de Fleurs by Stone Soup Cottage.” First, they served the food and wine of Tuscany, followed by a dinner featuring wild game, and then a Valentine’s Day celebration that spanned four nights. Every dinner series sold out within minutes of its release time, at $295 per person (not including tax or service charge).
Over the past dozen years, Stone Soup had won over St. Louisans, and its draw was still strong. As SLM noted, “In any season, Stone Soup is undeniably a splurge but an experience long remembered.”
For March, the McConnells announced a formal Parisian Champagne Brunch on every Saturday and Sunday in March, with two seatings per day. The price: $150 per person plus tax and service charges, which “did seem like a lot for brunch,” Nancy reflects, “but people who know Carl and me know that we tend to underpromise and overdeliver. Some people were so impressed that they rebooked for another brunch at a later date. They enjoyed the formality and getting dressed up. It’s hard to explain other than saying it was a classic, beautiful, elegant brunch.”
For the April dinner series, called Rosé in Marseilles, A Celebration of Spring in Provence (tickets go on sale March 17 at 7 a.m.), Nancy says she thought she would add more dates and lower the price by not being as exclusive with the wine selections. “Most people didn’t realize that at $295 per person, we were pouring high-end, premier cru wines,” she says. “The price for the five-course April dinner is $195 per person, and we will be pouring some of our favorite wines at those dinners, too.”
After the McConnells take a trip to France in May, there will be a few more brunch dates and then the focus will turn to outdoor events, such as health and wellness retreats, as well as culinary and educational programs. The McConnells have hired a farmer to assist in building new hoophouses and greenhouses on the property, in addition to organizing CSAs for next year. “All I can say at this point is that this will be a one-of-a-kind operation,” Nancy says.
Looking back to the pandemic days, when the McConnells decided to personally deliver all-inclusive “Cottage to Carriage” meals to homes (complete with linen napkins/napkin rings, candles, and stemware), Nancy says they realized that “we didn’t want to be put into a box, to only do Thursday, Friday, and Saturday dinners again. We wanted the freedom to do a lot of the things that we’re just getting started doing. We want to be known as a special experience destination, Le Champs de Fleurs, meaning ‘field of flowers.’ Stone Soup Cottage is the building that houses the dinners and the brunches and some of the events. But it’s just the building. Le Champs de Fleurs is the 33-acre farm that encompasses everything that is experienced there.”
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