After tornado, chef returns to the table

Chef Steven Simmons had just pulled the oxtails from the oven in the kitchen.

His wife, Terran, was on a conference call in another room when she noticed something outside their Fountain Park home.

“Honey, do you see this out the window?” Simmons remembers shouting to his wife.

The trees were swaying. The sky was growing dark. They thought a bad storm was coming.

About 45 seconds later, their roof was gone. As part of the house was torn away, Simmons and his wife crawled toward a nearby bathroom for cover.

It was May 16, 2025, when an major tornado tore through St. Louis, striking the Simmons family’s two-story home in Fountain Park. The storm killed five people, injured 38 others and damaged approximately 5,000 buildings across the region.

Steven and Terran Simmons survived, but the home was a total loss.

It was also home to The Urban Dining Room at Fountain Park, the intimate dining experience Simmons had spent years building around five-course brunches, rotating menus and a simple idea: welcoming people into his home to feed them.

The tornado brought those brunches and dinners to a halt. Now, more than a year later, Simmons is preparing to welcome guests back.

Simmons, a University City native, traces his relationship with food to childhood and time spent in the kitchen with his grandmother, Laney Randles.

Randles grew up in Arkansas, where she helped raise younger siblings and learned to cook for her family. Her Thanksgiving dressing became legendary in the family. Simmons remembers her placing an entire duck in the middle, allowing its fat and flavor to render into the dressing.

She also taught him something that would follow him through his career: Write things down.

Simmons carried notebooks as he spent the next two decades working in kitchens across St. Louis, jotting down recipes, techniques and lessons from other chefs.

Eventually, that career led him to the Four Seasons, where he was working when COVID-19 disrupted the hotel industry.

With work halted, Simmons found himself at home with Terran and their young son. He kept cooking, experimenting with dishes and studying other chefs. He also began thinking seriously about working for himself, something Terran had been encouraging him to consider for years.

When Simmons brought her the idea for a private dining experience inside their home, she supported it but told him that if people were paying for an experience, they shouldn’t be eating from paper plates or drinking from plastic cups.

“We need to make this truly an experience,” Simmons remembers her telling him.

Their downtown loft became the first Urban Dining Room. Before brunch, the family moved couches and rugs into their son’s bedroom and replaced them with tables and chairs. Real glassware and dinnerware replaced anything disposable.

Simmons cooked. Terran brought her marketing experience to the website, photography, design and guest experience.

Their son, Terrance, now 10, found his own role as Dad’s unofficial food critic.

“He will tell me honestly, like, ‘No, Dad, I didn’t like that,’” Simmons said.

Guests purchase tickets for multicourse brunches with menus that change regularly. Once inside, they can watch Simmons work as he prepares dishes and explains each course — how it was cooked, what inspired it and sometimes the family story behind it.

Longtime client Kwira Vickers remembers setting an alarm to buy tickets before they sold out.

“It’s like a concert,” she said.

Vickers has attended close to 10 brunches, including a Mardi Gras experience, and describes The Urban Dining Room as something she hasn’t found elsewhere.

“It’s friendship, it’s good food, it’s soul,” Vickers said. “It’s originality.”

Another longtime supporter, Nishonda Brown-Patterson, has attended more than 20 brunches.

Brown-Patterson points to Simmons’ French toast, cornbread and New Orleans-inspired dishes among her favorites. Over the years, she also has watched Steven and Terran work together and formed friendships with other guests around their table.

The Simmons family eventually moved to Fountain Park, bringing The Urban Dining Room with them.

The historically Black neighborhood quickly became home. Terran remembers being drawn to the park, the Martin Luther King Jr. statue and neighbors who welcomed the family and shared stories about the history of their home and community.

The May 2025 tornado changed that.

For nearly a year, the family was displaced while their home was rebuilt. Simmons lost kitchen equipment, seasonings and the home base of his business. He continued taking some private chef clients, but the signature brunches and dinners stopped.

Brown-Patterson remembers reassuring him after the storm that things would eventually be OK.

“I know it will be OK,” Simmons told her, “but right now it isn’t.”

Getting back to business has required some adjustment. Simmons said he has had to relearn his shopping and preparation routines, deal with higher food and supply costs and give himself grace as he finds his rhythm again.

Some of his longtime customers have returned with hugs.

“We’re just happy to see you back,” Simmons remembers one supporter telling him.

Simmons recently released seats for his Welcome Back Brunch, scheduled for later this month. All dates sold out in four minutes.

“I’m passionate about food. I’m passionate about feeding people,” Simmons said. “And I love to see people when they eat my food.”