The most consistently great restaurant in St. Louis just got better

By Craig Kaminer / Photos by Carmen Troesser

Annie Gunn’s has done what most restaurants can only dream of. They’ve flourished through a pandemic, a flood and competition from every corner of the city. Thom and Jane Sehnert started in a small, 1,400 square foot building with 10 tables in Chesterfield Valley long before there were multi-million homes, shopping centers, and entertainment venues on both sides of highway 64/40.

Night falls on the newly-expanded Annie Gunn’s.

Annie Gunn's has the feel of an upscale lodge, which is not surprising since Sehnert spent five years managing a fishing lodge on a remote lake in Canada. The restaurant, named after Sehnert's great-grandmother, shows patrons what can be done with food coming out of the Smoke House. Jane's parents, Frank and Claire Wiegand, bought it in 1952, and Thom and Jane took over the location in 1980. The business already was a landmark. The store was built in 1937 by Andy Kroeger. He opened it as the Chesterfield Mercantile with a filling station, a tavern and a store.

Annie Gunn’s is named after Thom Sehnert's great-grandmother.

Over the following 43 years, Annie Gunn’s and The Smoke House have remained one of the area’s great restaurants, and gourmet grocers. With a loyal team ranging from Chef Lou Rook who has been with Annie’s Gunn’s for more than 30 years, managers including Ryan Krissinger, Judy Scheer, Kelly Robbins and Mike Veninga to back-of-house employees many of whom have worked there for 25 years or more, Annie Gunn’s and The Smoke House Market are where you want to work if you're in the culinary or hospitality business. Glenn Bardgett, who is perhaps the most knowledgeable and experienced wine expert in the Midwest, has overseen and curated the two-time James Beard National Semi Finalist wine program which has won the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence 17 consecutive years. And Thom’s sister Therese Ravens has been the catering manager for 35 years. All this translates to customer satisfaction and respect that few in the business enjoy.

If you have never met Thom or Jane, their son Liam, or Chef Lou, you’re missing the best part of Annie Gunn’s. The sign over the door that reads “Grateful & Thankful” truly translates to the 134 people who have left great establishments to join this extraordinary team. Everyone wants to be here and they take immense pride in what they do from the host stand to the wait staff, the bartenders, the kitchen, The Smoke House butchers, fishmongers, and sandwich makers. Not surprisingly, this passion starts at the top with Thom and Jane who quickly point out that “No one works for us, they work with us.”

Chef Lou Rook, Liam Schnett, Janet Schnett, Thom Schnett.

If you ever get a chance to sit down with Thom, he’ll tell you many tales of hunting the backroads throughout the Midwest – and the world for that matter – for the best of everything. From his weeklong ventures with Jane and Liam where they traveled country roads when Liam was just a kid to find the best eggs, the best cheese, fresh chickens, and just about anything they could find within hundreds of miles, plus Ireland, England, Italy and lesser-known culinary hotspots in Europe. When they found it, they would quickly place an order for everything the purveyor would sell them. The customers wanted it and Thom and Jane subconsciously wanted to corner the market on quality … almost at any price.

Liam affectionately recalls, “Most kids went on vacation with their parents. I went to cheese shops.”

When discussing the menu, the entire staff can say where everything is sourced and it's clear that the menu is curated with only the finest that can be found. Virtually every other purveyor who sells the best knows Thom and Lou…well.

Chef Lou Rook at the stove with Ed Rickert (in the green baseball cap) and Josue Mendoza (in the white baseball cap).

When I asked Thom how he can charge New York prices in Chesterfield Valley, he answered simply: “Here’s what our standards are. We would rather explain our prices than apologize for lesser quality. The way I see it, service plus quality equals price.” Based on the lines out the door or the hard-to-get reservations, it's clear his clientele agrees.

In addition to the quality, Annie Gunn’s is among the most consistent restaurants I have ever eaten at in the world. The fish is flown in fresh daily and is perfectly fileted. The shrimp and scallops are large, sweet, and burst with flavor. The thick-cut filets of Bigeye tuna, swordfish, salmon, and sea bass are all sushi grade. While it may be a little pricey for a Tuesday night dinner, once you have it in the restaurant or take it home from The Smoke House, you will be hard-pressed to go anywhere else.

Don’t forget the apple pie with Clementine’s cinnamon ice cream, the legendary bread pudding, the maple-glazed smoked shrimp and barbeque sauce, the largest selection of Waygu beef in St. Louis, or Lou’s cookbook Rook Cooks: Simplicity at its Finest. You won’t be disappointed.

I consider myself one of Thom’s and Lou’s biggest fans and devotees. And my adult kids choose to go there every time they are back in St. Louis. We ask for a “snug” which is a little private room just big enough for four to six people. The snugs are always in high demand but we feel awfully special when we get one. After dining at Annie Gunn’s for 30 or so years, we know the menu like the back of our hands. I have particular favorites like the tuna, lamb chops or strip steaks, but everything ordered comes out perfectly. The seasonal vegetables with asparagus and butternut squash, accompanied by the homemade whipped potatoes, have been a staple for years. I wouldn’t change a thing. They’re that good. But Annie Gunn’s does not need to be fancy or terribly expensive. They have great burgers, wings, and sandwiches. (My favorite is the BLT).

A true Thanksgiving feast with all the fixings, straight from Annie Gunn’s.

As you may expect, the Sehnerts have been encouraged to open additional locations (including the former Busch’s Grove) over the years, but they never have. They have always preferred to make Annie’s (as Thom calls it) and The Smoke House his celebration of life, living close by, raising honeybees, working every day, and teaching Liam to take over the business in time. So when I saw the expansion of the dining room taking place with its homage to the red farmhouses that once dotted the valley, I reached out to Thom to see if he would meet with Sophisticated Living St. Louis. Annie Gunn’s was first featured a decade ago in the July/Aug 2013 issue of the magazine, so it seemed like a good time to revisit this legendary establishment on the dawn of a new era with the expansion and the addition of Liam, who graduated from the University of Michigan and recently earned an MBA from Washington University.

Thom explains, “Our favorite word is yes, but we found ourselves saying no a lot…to everything from corporate events to weddings and bar mitzvahs.” After a lot of reflection, they finally decided to expand the building, the kitchen, the seating, the wine storage, and the place for a team to build the more than 6,000 gift baskets they sell each year. In true Sehnert fashion, they started drawing out what they would need and created a design out of their imaginations that matched the function of how Annie Gunn’s operates. The Sehnerts have the good fortune of being a very close friend of Bob Brinkmann of Brinkmann Construction. Bob agreed to help build Thom’s dream expansion, despite the fact that the company doesn’t handle jobs this small.

Regulars will be thrilled to learn the addition adds 75-plus seats in private dining rooms, larger open spaces for events or larger tables, an outdoor terrace with seating for 50, and 40-plus additional parking places.

On a behind-the-scenes walking tour with Thom, I was struck by the thoughtfulness of each change to the facility. The two wine storage units in the new addition make it faster to serve wine to customers without having to locate the right bottle in the cellar as before. The new kitchen is Chef Lou’s dream and will add the capability to serve guests in the front rooms while also cooking and serving a full wedding in the rear space.

The red barn motif on the exterior of the building pays homage to the farmers who worked in the Chesterfield Valley long before Annie Gunn’s and the shopping that exists now. The tables and chairs have all been crafted out of Missouri walnut by local artisans and Old Hickory Furniture from Shelbyville, Indiana. Even the rear patio which is often in the sun was designed so that it’s fully shaded by 4:00 p.m. The additional seating and parking are welcome additions for anyone who longs for a reservation.

Thom, Jane, Lou, and now Liam are truly humble but for anyone in the know, they are legends in the food business. They know the best and the best know them. They are all hands-on, ready to work the front or back-of-house on a moment's notice … and it shows. Thom explains, “We are mission-driven and we can only accomplish what we have by being here every day. We are very blessed to build a business that is our celebration of life.”

Spend an afternoon or evening at Annie Gunn’s and it's like an episode of “Cheers” where everybody literally knows everybody’s name. Everyone has a story about Thom or Lou and vice versa. Thom remembers my kids, their names, and even my in-laws who always loved the experience, but never spent as much time there as we did.

There are few people like Thom, Jane, Lou and Liam. Few have invested so much of themselves to make something truly exceptional. With the expanded Annie Gunn’s and the next generation Sehnert on board (not to mention a Wolverine alum), the next 40 years seem to be in great hands.

St. Louis has some great restaurateurs and restaurants – especially in the last 10 years – but Annie Gunn’s is still at the top of the list. Even the Great Flood of 1993 was not powerful enough to dampen its trajectory. Make a reservation for lunch or dinner. Host an event there. Don’t miss one of Glenn’s legendary wine dinners. Most of all, return the love that has been invested by the tag team of Sehnerts and Rook, and make memories that will never be forgotten.

Says Thom, “We hope our foods inspire a return to the precious food memories and traditions which bring us all a little closer to our children, our family and our friends.”

Visit Annie Gunn’s online.

Celebration of Life