The past 12 months have been tough for almost everyone in the hospitality industry, with restaurants and hotels being hit particularly hard by the COVID-19. After opening in the middle of the pandemic on June 1, the Loews Kansas City Hotel will open its restaurant concept on Thursday evening, more than 9 months later. “Excitement is the best way to describe it,” said Patrick LeBeau, chef de cuisine at The Stillwell on-site restaurant. The name pays homage to “The Stillwell Oyster Car”, a Pullman freight car that transported oysters from the Gulf of Mexico to Kansas City at the end of the 19th century. Oysters are a big item on the menu, but most of the rest are local flavors. LeBeau describes the food as Midwestern American cuisine with a Kansas City twist. “We try to find the best ingredients here, work with people to provide us with them, and make the food stand out in a simple and straightforward way. You know all of these flavors, but you may not even have seen this presentation. “As for some of his favorite dishes, LeBeau says the clam chowder will surprise people, but” in a good way. ” At the moment the Stillwell is only open for the third dinner nights of the week (Thursday-Saturday). The goal is to open more days and for breakfast and lunch later this year. Hotel managers say the limited days of the restaurant opening are part of their slow rollout to get back to normal hotel service. “We really focused on getting certain parts of the hotel online when it was really socially responsible,” said Brian Johnson. Managing Director of Loews Kansas City. The pandemic has devastated the hotel market across the industry. According to STR, a hotel analytics company, 2020 was officially the worst year ever for hotels. US hotel profits were down nearly 85% and the industry topped 1 billion unsold room nights in the first year. However, there is some good news as we move into 2021. Occupancy is increasing and Johnson says he’s seen a lot of interest in people looking to travel again this year. “It will be a long road to recovery,” he said. “Vacation travel will return first, we’re seeing signs and indicators of it. Corporate business will likely return last, but we’re seeing positive indicators that companies are ready to book meetings. And we’re excited about that.” Johnson says he’s also excited about some upcoming events in Kansas City, including next week’s Big XII tournament and a major volleyball tournament that will be held at Bartle Hall in April. This will help fill the hotel with 800 rooms and fuel the recovery in 2021.
KANSAS CITY, Mon. – –
The past 12 months have been tough for almost everyone in the hospitality industry, with restaurants and hotels being hit particularly hard by the COVID-19. After opening in the middle of the pandemic on June 1, the Loews Kansas City Hotel will open its restaurant concept on Thursday evening, more than 9 months later.
“Excitement is the best way to describe it,” said Patrick LeBeau, head chef at The Stillwell on-site restaurant.
The name pays homage to the “The Stillwell Oyster Car“A Pullman freight car that transported oysters from the Gulf of Mexico to Kansas City in the late 19th century. Oysters are a big item on the menu, but most of the rest are local flavors. LeBeau describes the food as American in the Midwest Fare with a touch of Kansas City.
“”[We’ve been] Try to find the best ingredients here, work with people to provide them, and highlight the food in a simple and straightforward way. You are familiar with all of these flavors, but you may not have even seen this presentation. “
As for some of his favorite dishes, LeBeau says the clam soup will surprise people, but “in a good way”.
Currently the Stillwell is only open for dinner three nights a week (Thursday through Saturday). The goal is to open more days and for breakfast and lunch later this year. Hotel managers say the restaurant opening is part of their slow rollout on limited days to get back to normal hotel service.
“We really focused on putting certain parts of the hotel online when that was really socially responsible,” said Brian Johnson, executive director of Loews Kansas City.
The pandemic has devastated the hotel market across the industry. 2020 was officially 2020, according to hospitality analytics company STR worst year ever for hotels. US hotel profits were down nearly 85% and the industry topped 1 billion unsold room nights in the first year.
However, there is some good news as we move into 2021. Occupancy is increasing and Johnson says he’s seen a lot of interest in people looking to travel again this year.
“It will be a long road to recovery,” he said. “Vacation travel will return first, we’re seeing signs and indicators of it. Corporate business will likely return last, but we’re seeing positive indicators that companies are ready to book meetings. And we’re excited about that.”
Johnson says he’s also excited about some upcoming events in Kansas City, including next week’s Big XII tournament and a major volleyball tournament that will be held at Bartle Hall in April. This will help fill the hotel with 800 rooms and fuel the recovery in 2021.
