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ON20 Chef Jeffrey Lizotte, Grant’s Manager Plan Restaurant In Former Mill At 2T

Executive chef Jeffrey Lizotte
Suzie Hunter / smhunter@courant.com
Executive chef Jeffrey Lizotte
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The former Mill at 2T in Simsbury’s Tariffville section will soon be occupied by a town native — one of Greater Hartford’s top chefs.

ON20’s Jeffrey Lizotte is partnering with Tom Gale, a veteran manager of Billy Grant’s restaurants, to open Present Company at 2 Tunxis Road in September. Lizotte and Gale are taking over from the Mill’s former owners Ryan and Kelleanne Jones, who are relocating to Charleston, S.C.

Lizotte, raised in Simsbury, is a Cornell graduate whose culinary résumé includes experience at David Bouley’s Danube and Eric Ripert’s Le Bernardin in New York City. During two years in France, he worked for Bordeaux’s La Tupina and the Michelin-starred La Bastide St. Antoine in Grasse.

Back stateside, he earned a silver medal at the 2012 Bocuse d’Or USA National Finals, and in 2014, he was nominated as one of the New England candidates for Food & Wine magazine’s “People’s Best New Chef.”

He leaves ON20 after nearly nine years, serving as executive chef for the last four.

“When you’re a kid … all you can think about is moving out, what’s next,” Lizotte says. “Coming back home [to Simsbury] and working here was never a solid reality on my horizon. But after I went out there in the world, did my thing in New York and went overseas, I realized how wonderful it is here. Not only to call it home, but to make a living here.”

The Mill at 2T opened in 2009, featuring an intimate space with an open kitchen and sought-after chef’s counter.

“You’ve got brick, you’ve got exposed ceilings, you’ve got farmhouse post and beam,” Lizotte says of the 49-seat dining room. “For me, that’s enough.”

Present Company will put its own touches on the décor, including family photos, and the open kitchen — a focal point of the room — will remain.

“One of the most appealing parts of that space is the open kitchen, the ability to have the guests right there,” Lizotte says. “I’ve always wanted to do that, but I’ve never worked in an open kitchen. It’ll be a challenge for me, but the way I’ve always tried to run my kitchen, is that it’s almost like a marketplace. The guests could come in, peruse through your station, it has to be presentable. It has to look beautiful for them to want to experience it.”

Present Company’s menu is still in development, the partners say. “The food really is going to be dictated upon what’s going to work in that space, what’s going to be connect with me and what makes sense to us,” Lizotte says.

He emphasizes that Present Company “would not be ON20,” as the formal restaurant on the 20th floor of the Hartford Steam Boiler building retains its own style.

“I’m leaving to do something different,” he says. “There’s going to be honest, genuine cooking. It’s not going to be complicated; it’s going to be pretty straightforward and simple.”

Gale says Present Company will continue to offer tasting menus, and, like its predecessor, the bar will feature beer and wine.

Lizotte and Gale met several years ago and “instantly hit it off,” they say, and Gale later worked for ON20 for a year as general manager. The two say it won’t be easy to leave their current roles for the new opportunity, but that it’s always been a goal to open their own establishment.

“We are coming from really great places. … It’s not easy to walk away,” Lizotte says. “I’ve got a great situation. … Pinch me, this is the most amazing chef job I could ask for in the Greater Hartford area. He’s working for one of the best guys in the business, hands down. It’s not an easy thing to say ‘We’re going to do it, because this is it.'”

The partners are aiming for a Sept. 1 opening (and will honor Mill at 2T gift certificates).

“We want people to walk in there and not feel like they’re going to a restaurant and there’s a transaction that’s going to take place at the end,” Lizotte says. “We want them to feel like they’re going to someone’s house for a dinner party.”

Gale’s excited to be part of Lizotte’s return to Simsbury. “A guy that went to Cornell, worked in the best places in New York and France, and just wants to cook for his town,” Gale says. “I think it’s the coolest thing in the world.”

Watch presentcompanyct.com for future restaurant details.