Tom Coghill was wearing a biker bandanna and dragging on a cigarette when I first met him, and he came off as gruff, blunt and opinionated.
In other words, I had no choice but to like the guy.
After years of living life at full-steam speed, the co-owner and chef of Iron Barley restaurant went to bed Thursday and did not wake up Friday. He was 57.
Coghill’s passing was the second death in three days of a well-known STL chef: Rich LoRusso, 63, died Wednesday after battling ALS.
“Tom was … well, he was Tom,†said Bill Kunz, owner of Highway 61 Roadhouse. “He was a smart, smart guy and he always stuck to his guns.â€
“He wasn’t concerned about people liking him or being popular. He cared about making good food,†said Kunz, who was one of Coghill’s closest friends for more than 30 years.
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Coghill spent close to a decade at Frazer’s Brown Bag before opening Iron Barley in 2003 with his wife, Gen, on Virginia Avenue near Bates Street in Carondelet.
It first created interest for its inventive menu and wide craft beer selection. In short order, its annual events like the Tomato Fest and the Memorial Day Rib-Off became jam-packed street parties.
But no matter how many rave reviews his creative fare garnered over the years from “frou-frou foodies†— a phrase Tom once used, though I’d bet it included another F-word — he faithfully kept some favorites from the restaurant’s early days.
One such holdover is the Ballistic Elvis Sammiche, a feverish combo of crunchy peanut butter, grilled banana, bacon, American cheese, hot pepper flakes and strawberry jam. (All that and a bag of chips, literally.)
Another testament to Coghill’s view of haute cuisine is the fact that one of his essential kitchen tools was a Milwaukee M18 Sawzall, something that delighted Guy Fieri to no end when Iron Barley was featured in 2008 on Fieri’s television show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.â€
Coghill’s sense of humor, which often brought laughs from his audience and especially from himself, was as bracing and point-blank as his gravel-bomb of a voice.
In 2017, when announcing that he was moving his restaurant to High Ridge because of the deteriorating neighborhood around his place, Coghill noted that an employee of a convenience store across the street had recently pulled her own gun and fatally shot a man trying to rob the place.
Said Coghill, “When the 7-Eleven clerk in your neighborhood is tougher than you, it’s time to get the hell out.â€
Although Coghill faced life by leading with his chin, he also followed his heart, which was far bigger than he’d have cared to admit.
“Tom raised a lot of money for causes, especially Lift For Life,†said Charlie Brinza, chief judge for Iron Barley’s many barbecue contests. “But I also don’t think he ever turned down a chance help any veterans organization.â€
Brinza also recalled that after his mother died some years ago, “Tom and Gen started inviting me to be a part of their Thanksgiving dinner; made me feel like part of the family.â€
“He came off all gruff,†Brinza said. “But he was really a big teddy bear.â€
Like Coghill, LoRusso also was known for both his fill-the-room personality and his willingness to help those in need.
He and his wife, Terri, opened their namesake eatery in 1986 on Hampton Avenue in southwest ºüÀêÊÓƵ, then moved shortly thereafter to 3121 Watson Road.
“Rich was always there when I asked him to do something for my charity,†KTRS radio host John Carney said. “He was one of my first and biggest backers.â€
“I thought it was just me†he was doing it for, Carney said. “But then I’d go to these other charity events and there would be Rich, dishing out pasta and appetizers.â€
Rick Lewis, chef and owner of Grace Meat + Three, said he was 21 when he started working for LoRusso about 17 years ago.
“I stayed there over four years, and that’s where I learned my trade. I was not a culinary school guy, but I did just about everything at his place,†Lewis said.
“Along with coming for the food, I think as many people came to his restaurant for a chance to talk with Rich,†Lewis said. “He just had a way of making people feel special.â€
Services for LoRusso will be 10 a.m. March 29 at St. Francis Xavier College Church, 3628 Lindell Boulevard; visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. March 28 at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 5130 Wilson Avenue.
Visitation for Coghill will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at Kutis Funeral Home, 10151 Gravois Road in the Affton area. As one would expect, an unorthodox celebration will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday at Iron Barley in High Ridge.
Kunz said he and others will bring their barbecue pits and light them up as a tribute. Asked when the celebration would come to a close, Kunz laughed.
“There is no official time. We decided that Tom would not have wanted to put an end time on a party.â€