Popular New Canaan Chef Is on The Move

Chef Brian Lewis and his partners at elm restaurant announced Friday that Lewis plans to leave the restaurant on Nov. 1 to pursue new projects.

The restaurant at 73 Elm St, which opened in March 2012, has become a destination for its world-class cuisine Lewis and his team have developed for seasonal American cuisine. During Lewis’ tenure, the restaurant was named one of Connecticut Magazine’s Best of Connecticut 2013, among Esquire’s best new restaurants in America in 2013, and received a glowing review from The New York Times.

In a statement, Lewis said, “I have been fortunate to have partners who shared my vision for elm and it’s been a very rewarding experience to build this restaurant with them and the stellar group of professionals who have been a part of our team.” He added, “ It’s always bitter sweet to make a change like this, and I will miss being part of this great restaurant, but I look forward to seeing it thrive and I am excited to be able to devote my full attention to my next project.”

The partners at elm said in the statement, “With the elm Restaurant brand now enduringly established in our community through Chef Brian Lewis’ creative excellence and the hard work of all of our wonderful employees, we are now ready to move to the next phase of our development. Brian’s work will live on at elm Restaurant and we appreciate all that he has done to establish the brand that will carry on for many years to come. The Partners of elm Restaurant support Brian’s decision to move on to his next creative phase and we wish him much success.”

There was no word on who will succeed Lewis or where Lewis will land with his new projects.

Photo: Chef Brian Lewis. Credit: elm restaurant.

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