An award-winning Missouri chef has closed his restaurant and now plans to leave altogether after feeling unwelcome over what he says are the state’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
Chef Rob Connoley ran Bulrush in St. Louis’ Midtown for five years beginning in 2019 after moving to the city from New Mexico in 2017. But last weekend he served his last dishes.
Connoley, who is gay, has been a finalist for the James Beard Award for several years, but he believes the state is pursuing an anti-gay and anti-transgender agenda.
“I feel uncomfortable promoting a state that is actively working to harm the LGBTQ community, especially the trans community,” Connoley wrote in a lengthy article. Facebook post announcing the closure of his restaurant.
‘As the owner of a recovering restaurant trying to make amends for the damage of the past, I can’t keep doing it. I can’t keep supporting my own oppressor.
James Beard Awards finalist chef Rob Connoley has announced plans to leave Missouri over what he sees as anti-LGBTQ+ politics
Connoley’s restaurant, Bulrush, located in Midtown, has been hailed as the number one dining spot in St. Louis. It closed last weekend after five years of service
Connoley made his disapproval of Missouri politics clear on his social media accounts
“I need to run a business where I feel that the contributions I make to the community are valued and that the money I generate for the state is put to good use rather than being used to attack me and people like my community,” he told KSDK.
Connoley’s departure is a huge loss to the culinary scene, which in the past was rated the best eatery in all of St. Louis.
His tasting menu featured local ingredients such as mushrooms, acorns and quail eggs, drawing culinary inspiration from what European settlers, enslaved people and indigenous peoples ate in the past.
Bulrush’s kitchen opened in 2019, serving dishes inspired by traditional Ozark recipes and even making waves worldwide, sending Connoley to London to promote Missouri dining.
But he believes state lawmakers have been actively targeting the LGBTQ+ community, with the attorney general leading the charge.
Connoley began considering moving his business out of Missouri. He has expressed concern about what he sees as Missouri lawmakers targeting the LGBTQ+ community
Connoley, a married gay man, hopes his move can also be seen as a powerful statement
Connoley finds Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s (pictured) attempts to access medical records related to transgender care particularly concerning.
Missouri is one of many states that limits gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
In 2023, the Legislature passed a law banning health care providers from providing gender confirmation surgery, cross-gender hormones, or puberty blockers to anyone under 18.
Although the law exempted patients who were already receiving treatment, many medical providers in the state stopped providing care, citing legal risks
“I’ve really struggled with the way a company operates in a state that’s moving more and more from conservative to radical,” he told Fox 2.
Connoley believes that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s efforts to gain access to medical records related to transgender care are particularly important.
Opened in 2019, Bulrush serves dishes inspired by traditional recipes from the Ozark period.
The tasting menu featured local ingredients such as mushrooms, acorns and quail eggs, inspired by what European settlers, enslaved people and indigenous peoples ate in the past
The request for access to medical records is part of a state investigation into gender-affirming care for minors, but Connoley has serious concerns about the request.
“AG Bailey has stated that he is doing this for the safety of children, but this is simply election year hate politics at its worst. We know this when we look at the lack of action on Missouri’s infant mortality, poverty or child health rates,” Connoley wrote.
“Missouri ranks fourth in pediatric education, but AG Bailey is choosing instead to focus on destroying the intimate relationship between a licensed physician and a patient. Real action doesn’t win votes – speaking from the pulpit of the bully pulpit does,” he said.
While Connoley maintains that he loves living in St. Louis, he says that despite his advocacy for change, he feels that change is only possible if he moves elsewhere.
“I thought, let’s get on top of this. Let’s make a statement and hope that the state can rewrite its course,” Connoley said.
Connoley, right, is seen in his St. Louis kitchen after the pandemic
“I’m out, I’m absolutely out. Because Missouri, it’s not a blip. It’s a trend. And it’s gone from a conservative state to a radical state.
“This is not a decision I have taken lightly. I have hoped for over a year that the state would change course and stop playing politics, but that has not happened,” Connoley wrote online.
“My greatest sadness is that I love St. Louis more than I can express and have such admiration and affection for the Ozark region and its people. People who have proven to me time and time again that they are hospitable and loving to everyone.’
Connoley described Missouri and Bulrush as “his whole world.”
He was a finalist in this year’s James Beard Awards, also known as “the food Oscars.” He was also a semi-finalist in 2022 and 2023.