Aug. 16, 2021

Chef Omar Thornton has a new job: head chef at the Washington Pavilion.

The founder of ‘O’ So Good Restaurant in Garretson, who was featured on “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” before moving it to the kitchen of Wileys in downtown Sioux Falls, started at the Pavilion today.

The venture at Wileys had been a brief one before Thornton and the bar ended the partnership.

He then applied for an open position at the Pavilion, where he will oversee the catering and banquet operations along with helping run the day-to-day kitchen at Leonardo’s Cafe.

“My family is very excited. My boss and even the CEO, they were even saying there’s some good excitement throughout the back offices. It was really nice to hear. I need more positive in my life than negative,” Thornton said.

The Pavilion had been looking to fill the role, and after a 90-minute interview, Thornton emerged the winning candidate, said Jason Pfitzer, director of guest services and sales.

“He’s been through a lot, and I think he’s excited about the possibility of just knowing where his life is going and being part of a team,” he said. “We’re here to help him and support him so he can do great things.”

Leonardo’s serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, including a salad bar, and a new menu started today. It includes sandwiches, wraps, soup, hot dogs, a new kids menu and other “standard Midwest comfort food,” Pfitzer said.

“And we have a daily and weekly special, so we will probably incorporate some of his flair into the weekly special offerings, and we’re talking to him about the possibility of maybe having a special day where we would have a unique menu, where we would be open for a Saturday or Sunday chef menu.”

The cafe also opens before and sometimes after certain large performances.

The banquet offerings also could add some of Thornton’s “style and flavor,” Pfitzer said. “He is part of our team, but I’m not going to allow for his following and flavor to not at least be utilized at some level.”

The Pavilion is offering him “exactly what I was looking for and what I needed,” Thornton said.

“You’ll definitely be seeing more specials inside the cafe, more unique things, trying to get people to come in there to eat lunch.”

Some of ‘O’ So Good’s fans were unhappy that it lost its ability to serve families with the move into the bar, he said.

“Now that I’m at the Washington Pavilion, you can’t get any more bigger family than this,” he said.

“I’m still downtown, and I love the opportunity to be with the Washington Pavilion. They’ve said there’s no rules on what we can do or come up with. … We have the Washington Pavilion to do anything we can think of. I’m still awestruck that this whole building is my tool and what it has to offer. The Washington Pavilion is going to give me the opportunity to have full medical, dental, vision, a 401(k), everything I needed to help me get better physically and mentally.”

He said he’s excited about having a full team behind him: someone who is focused on marketing, someone who makes sure events are planned and taken care of, and someone over beverages. He doesn’t have to do it all himself.

“That’s a relief and gives me more time to spend with my family.”

And the Pavilion gets to harness Thornton’s entrepreneurial spirit, Pfitzer added.

“I think we can use that to help propel Leonardo’s in a forward direction, bring new things into the Pavilion, and I think he’s going to help us get there,” he said. “He’s just a really good guy, a lot of fun to talk to, and we think this is going to be a really good fit for him.”