By Polly Lynn
updated
Wed, Feb 1, 2012 10:38 AM
MENDON- At an auction on Tuesday, Nov. 8, The Vermont Inn sold
for $270,000 - quite a deal compared to five years ago when it sold
for over $1,200,000. The Inn is a 16-room bed and breakfast on five
acres off Route 4 in Mendon. The day of the auction the bank
assessed its value at $775,700.
Samantha McLemore and Jeremy "JB" Smith, both graduates of Rutland
High School placed the winning bid. They live in Baltimore, MD with
their daughter Harper.
McLemore and Smith first heard about the auction Oct. 20, and just
over a week later they drove up "to see what it was all about,"
McLemore remembers. "We didn't expect that it would go for that
price so we didn't fully expect to win," she said.
"We were the third bid, I think," Smith said "and no one else went
any higher. When the auctioneer said 'sold' our jaws hit the
floor."
All of a sudden there was a lot of work to do.
First, they had to find someone to run the Inn. "We had talked to
my brother-in-law, Tim, about running it, but he hadn't accepted
yet... I don't know what we would have done if he had said 'no,'"
said McLemore.
Tim Hammond, did accept the offer to be Innkeeper and now lives in
the on-premise residence with his wife Jennifer and baby daughter
Sophie.
McLemore and Smith come up from Baltimore on holidays and some
weekends, but they have "put everything in Tim's hands" for the
day-to-day operations.
Also joining the team is Chef Reggie Serafin, who spent most of the
first month helping the family with repairs. "It was nice to see
him finally pick up a knife instead of a paint brush," said
Smith.
Serafin, a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute, worked
with Tim and Jennifer Hammond at Santa Fe about five years ago. "He
was looking for this style of dining, so it was just kind of a
perfect match," said Hammond.
REPAIRS
The Inn needed repairs prior to opening. "We had to do a lot of
stuff to the building which the bank required, like a new roof,
which we knew about in advance... The kitchen was also in disarray
so we had to do significant work there. Then we had to get a health
license, room and meals certificate and a lot of others," McLemore
explained.
They closed on Dec. 9 and just 20 days later they opened for
business. "It's been a whirlwind of a start but it's been
exciting," said Smith. "Everyone said 'that's impossible' when we
told them our goal was to open before the New Year. But we did it.
We actually had a great first week."
Both McLemore and Smith's parents live in the Rutland area and work
in construction industries, which enabled them to work quickly.
Especially when they couldn't be on-sight. JB Smith is a fitness
and adventure coordinator at a middle school in Baltimore City.
Samantha McLemore works in finance as an asset manager.
"It's challenging at times to balance our lives in Baltimore and
what we can do from there… we definitely have to prioritize what we
want to do first, because it's easy to spin your wheels and get
overwhelmed," said Smith, adding "But it's hard not to want to do
everything all at once after you've identified the need."
TRADITION & STYLE
The repairs and reconstruction they have done keeps with the
classic Vermont Inn tradition and style, says McLemore. "We reached
out to three sets of previous owners and loyal customers to try and
get a take on the feel and the flavor of this place… we're trying
to keep it in line with what it always was."
"All of the previous owners who live in the area have offered to
help, so that's been really nice," continued McLemore. "Megan Smith
and Greg even came in on New Year's Eve!"
VERMONT LIFE
Growing up in Rutland, McLemore always knew Vermont was a special
place, but neither she nor JB had considered coming back "until we
had Harper," said McLemore. "I've lived in Baltimore for the last
decade and whenever we come back here to Vermont it's always
surprising and refreshing how nice and authentic the people are.
Throughout this whole process, I can't think of one place or person
along the way that wasn't genuinely helpful," she said.
Smith also sees potential for the Inn to offer an oasis for some of
the kids he works with in the city. "I work with a really tough
population, we're always trying to give kids opportunities that
they might not otherwise have. So we set up a lot of outdoor
trips," he said. "Long term this could be a great place to bring a
group, to provide a sort of summer camp for the kids... Given the
undertaking we're in it seems far away, but I have aspirations for
sure."
Not yet three months after closing, such plans might be at least a
few years away. Still, it's exciting to witness the vitality these
three add to the traditions of The Vermont Inn.
"I think once we get through the first winter and can reflect on
what went well and what we can still improve upon, we'll sort of
establish some norms and figure out where we can be creative," said
Hammond, infusing a bit of realism into the conversation.
Tagged:
The Vermont Inn, Samantha McLemore, Jeremy Smith, JB Smith
