SPA INDUSTRY FOUNDERS BY JAMISON STOIKE
The Inn at Little Washington
“ If I have a gift, it’ s the gift of being able to dream and allowing myself to dream.”
SPA INDUSTRY FOUNDERS BY JAMISON STOIKE
PATRICK O’ CONNELL
The Inn at Little Washington
WHEN“ CHEF PATRICK” O’ CONNELL took his first job in a restaurant as a teenager, he felt something familiar to many spa professionals: an unexpected, profound sense of belonging.“ I didn’ t know yet that I was a food person, but even at an early age I felt that it was a place I fit into,” says O’ Connell.“ There’ s a lot of latitude for people being themselves.”
The Maryland-raised O’ Connell went to college“ to appease his parents,” but never felt certain about what he wanted to do afterwards. Equally inspired by French haute cuisine and Julia Child, he moved to rural Virginia and started cooking compulsively; soon, he found himself attracting a hungry audience:“ Maybe it was the fragrance going up the chimney, maybe it was lost hikers, but sometimes I would look up from my table and see 12 people.” O’ Connell used produce from his garden and foraged in the woods for ingredients.
This“ pioneer mentality” led to the creation of The Inn at Little Washington in 1978. Dinner was $ 4.95 on opening day, and— at a time when“ farm-to-table” had not yet entered the lexicon— O’ Connell’ s menus were set daily, based on whatever was fresh and local. O’ Connell dreamt of creating
a restaurant that rivaled the greatest in Europe; forty-five years later, The Inn is an icon of American fine dining, drawing gourmands from across the world to Washington, Virginia, to enjoy its cuisine and hospitality.
“ If I have a gift, it’ s the gift of being able to dream and allowing myself to dream,” he says. O’ Connell’ s latest dream? A world-class spa to complement the restorative power of The Inn’ s rustic retreat. Housed in a three-story building, the full-service facility will also include spa-specific guest lodging.“ The beauty of what we do,” he says,“ is that it’ s not over when someone walks out the door, because the memory of it will be cherished for a lifetime. So, if they can leave not only with a beautiful memory of a meal, but also feeling energized and reinvigorated from a spa, it becomes very therapeutic.” n
“ If I have a gift, it’ s the gift of being able to dream and allowing myself to dream.”
FOUNDER’ S PLAYBOOK l ADVICE FOR YOUR YOUNGER SELF:“ I’ d probably jump into the pool a little earlier than I did.” l PERSONAL MOTTO:“ I end every correspondence with‘ onward and upward’.” l BIGGEST MENTOR:“ My drama teacher in high school, Mrs. Morehead. She adored me and looked upon me as her project, and she had very high hopes.” l ALTERNATE CAREER:“ I might’ ve just lived in the woods as a hermit.”
The spa community is fortunate to have leaders who have elevated the spa experience and shaped the industry ' s evolution.
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