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On Jan. 5, the Beacon Hotel’s restaurant started serving a fusion of Southern and French cuisine from Executive Chef Matt Hutchins.
“The weekends are very busy, and we have a very good crowd on Thursdays,” said Alla Kormilitsyna, a renovator of townhouses in New York City who bought the property in 2015 with veteran restaurant renovator Greg Trautman and another investor from the estate of Ritchie Rogers in 2015. “I think it’s normally a very big challenge to open a restaurant in the midst of the winter, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised with the turnout on weekends. Certainly a lot of local support and a lot guests from nearby towns.”
Kormilitsyna said Beacon needed something that was “high-end, yet approachable” for the local crowd and for tourists coming for the weekend or special occasions -- “something inviting and warm and something that no other place has in Beacon.” She brought in New York City-based interior design firm Clodagh Design to capture the spirit of the community.
Next week, the restaurant, which has 93 indoor seats and about 25 in an outdoor patio, plans to introduce happy hour from 4-6 p.m. during weekdays, featuring dishes such as venison sliders, almond-crusted frog legs and mixed olives with grilled herbs. In mid-February, it will begin Saturday and Sunday brunch from 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. with signature drinks and dishes that will likely be changing seasonally.
Then in late April, it will once again return to its hotel roots after a long hiatus with 12 rooms. Kormilitsyna said the owners want to test the concept for at least a year to determine if they want to use an adjacent building they own that needs to be demolished and rebuilt for more for rooms or a mix of commercial and luxury condos.
“The original idea was to have at least one floor of the second building dedicated to the hotel, so we just need to see what happens. And subsequently, we may even have a rooftop bar, but again, that’s a few years away.”
Right now they are more focused on building the business and making connections throughout the community.
“There’s definitely a lot of excitement that this place came out beautifully,” Kormilitsyna said. “But like with anything new, there are always a lot of unknowns, so it was a little bit nerve-wracking. But opening the restaurant was extremely rewarding, just to see the first end-result, and then hopefully the hotel in the next two to three months. It’s been a pretty amazing experience to see people enjoying themselves with amazing food and smiles on their faces.”
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