Washington Inn to lead Princess Anne renaissance

Since the 18th century, it has served as a center of life in Princess Anne, where wealthy business owner Littleton Dennis Teackle entertained friends at the billiards tables and ran up a bar tab in the early 1800s.

In more recent years, it was the scene of popular wintertime muskrat dinners and lively Friday night happy hours.

The Washington Hotel – now renamed the Washington Inn & Tavern – is set to reopen Aug. 31 after four years with what owner Ian Fleming calls a “brass band opening” that will include Gov. Larry Hogan.

“I’ve never done a brass band opening in my life,” said Fleming who has owned and managed numerous inns and hotels in the U.S. and his native Scotland. “The expectation is hard to deliver on. Usually I tell no one.”

While Fleming prefers “soft” openings of his properties instead of a lot of fanfare, local officials and residents are ready to celebrate and already have high hopes for the old hotel to serve as an important anchor in Princess Anne’s historic district.

“This is truly going to be the catalyst for a renaissance for the downtown,” said Danny Thompson, director of the Somerset County Economic Development Commission. “This is a big deal.”

A new vision

Several town residents interested in historic preservation and downtown revitalization began looking at the property in 2012 following the death of 95-year-old Washington Hotel owner Mary Murphey.

“When the hotel went up for sale, we saw a great chance,” said Charlotte Sharf, who, at the time, had just completed the restoration of a building across the street known as Independence Hall.

Sharf and her husband, Jim, eventually joined with other private partners, including Kathy Washburn, who serves as chairwoman of the Princess Anne Main Street Partnership and who also recently restored an old Texaco station in town that houses an antiques shop.

The partners didn’t know each other well, but they all loved the town and old buildings, Sharf said. They worked with the town and the Economic Development Commission to devise a plan, and then Sharf recruited Fleming, who also owns the old Robert Morris Inn in Oxford and once managed the Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels.

"It was all contingent upon finding a seasoned operator,” she said.

The partnership also includes the town, which paid $308,000 for the building and is considered the legal owner. The involvement of the town allowed the partners to get a $500,000 state Community Development Block Grant to help pay for renovations. The private partners agreed to loan up to $500,000 of their own money for the project, Sharf said. The goal is to eventually turn over ownership to Fleming.

Work on the building started in 2013 and has been ongoing ever since. Fleming said one of the first tasks was to fix structural problems, including a new foundation. Workers also had to remove asbestos insulation from old steam pipes.

Parts of the building date to 1797, although records show a tavern has operated in the same location since before the Revolutionary War, according to Paul Touart, author of "Somerset: An Architectural History." The current building was likely constructed by innkeeper Zadock Long, who owned it from 1797 until his death in 1838, according to Touart.

Nearly three years later after restoration work started, the inn’s first floor has been redesigned to add two dining rooms and a handicapped-accessible bedroom in what once served as former owner Mary Murphey’s private apartment. The reception area now includes a lounge to the left of the main entrance that once served as the bar.

The room in the back that locals used to refer to as the “old dining room” has been reinvented as a tavern that will soon house 14 to 16 stools at the bar and high top tables. Beyond that is a new commercial kitchen.

Upstairs, 10 guest rooms will be furnished with antique beds and armoires.

“It’s been a long process, but the reward is well worth it,” Thompson said.

Business model

The investors in the Princess Anne project who were trying to figure out how to run a profitable hotel and help jumpstart the town’s economy looked at what happened 30 years ago in Berlin as a model.

During the 1980s, the town in neighboring Worcester County was in a similar predicament as Princess Anne with a struggling downtown. But everything changed when a group of partners bought the old Atlantic Hotel in 1986, restored it, furnished it with Victorian antiques and reopened it to great fanfare in 1988.

“I’ve never seen so much instant pride,” said current Berlin Mayor Gee Williams, a town native. “It was almost overnight.”

Two years later, the hotel partners received a Preservation Project Award from the Maryland Historical Trust.

The opening of the hotel was without a doubt “the tipping point for revitalization,” he said.

BACKGROUND:Berlin's title 'America's Coolest Small Town' bolsters Md. businesses

Soon, others in town began refurbishing old buildings, including the late Tom Patton, who partnered with others on The Globe, the Eagle Hotel and the Odd Fellows building, said his daughter, Kate Patton.

“People thought we were crazy,” said Patton, who once had a shop at the Globe and eventually took over the entire space as a gallery, café and entertainment venue. But soon small businesses began opening and visitors came to town.

The opening of the Atlantic Hotel in 1988 gave people in town a place to go, and offered jazz hours and special dinners with wine and Charles Dickens themes.

“It was just the most exciting experience,” Patton said.

The once “sleepy, tired town” has changed over the years to a vibrant young community, she said. In 2014, Berlin was named America's Coolest Small Town by Budget Travel magazine.

Williams, the mayor, said the original investors in the town years ago gave “a priceless gift to generations of Berliners.”

Berlin officials are supportive of what is happening with the Washington Inn & Tavern, and Williams said he wishes the town success.

He also offered some advice: “Get used to sharing your community with the world.”

Aiming for success

Turning old buildings into successful 21st century businesses is something Fleming has done many times before. He was once general manager and director of the 13th century Castle at Taunton in Somerset, England, before heading to the U.S. in 1990 to run and expand the Inn at Perry Cabin.

“I like giving ancient buildings a modern purpose,” he said.

In 2010, he bought the Robert Morris Inn in Oxford, built in 1710, that had been closed for three years. The previous owners ran it as a bed and breakfast and earned about $100,000 per year. With some changes and good marketing, Fleming was able to make $1.5 million in the first year.

His immediate plans in Princess Anne include operating a bar and dining rooms downstairs and guest bedrooms upstairs in the 18th century portion of the building, but he has long-range plans for a banquet space and more guest rooms in a 19th century addition that once housed the restaurant during the Murphey family’s ownership.

Fleming also has a lease-purchase agreement with the owners of Somerset House, Jay and Deborah Parker, who ran it as a bed and breakfast before moving out of state last year. He plans to offer the house built by John W. Crisfield and its garden as a venue for weddings and other private events.

Across the street from the inn, he is opening an ice cream shop in a former café space in Independence Hall.

By Monday, Fleming said he expects to be fully staffed, with 20 employees to start, but that number could expand to 28 by next year. He is flying in trainers from Scotland to work with the new hires before the party on Wednesday evening and the restaurant opening at noon on Thursday. The trainers will be back every six months.

“We’re giving everyone the maximum opportunity to succeed,” he said.

Marketing the inn aggressively will be an important part of its success, including sharing information about it with customers at his other properties. Fleming said he already has bookings from customers in Scotland who will be visiting the inn this fall and next spring.

Fleming said he has a track record of economic regeneration at other inns and believes it can happen in Princess Anne with the right amount of effort.

“We don’t intend to take this on and then fall asleep,” he said.

On Twitter @LizHolland5

Grand Opening

Gov. Larry Hogan will be at the grand opening ceremony for the refurbished Washington Inn & Tavern at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 31.

The tavern will open for lunch at noon on Thursday, Sept. 1.