By Lauren Young
Staff Writer
The Brewster Inn has formally announced the new owners of the Cazenovia eatery and inn.
The new owners include Marketing and Public Relations Director Caitlin Gambee, Wine Specialist Kirk Gibson, Executive Sous Chef Stephen Franks and Executive Chef Jason Wright. Collectively, the new owners have been with the Inn for over fifty years.
The inn originally hired the new owners June 1 of last year but decided to hold off the on public announcement until now.
“I think sometimes when you announce new ownership, people start to look for changes or mistakes, or good or bad,” said Gambee.
As for the transition to new owners, Franks, who has been with the inn for nearly 18 years, said it was just the “natural next step.”
“We’ve all been here for so long, so it was just the right next move,” he said. “[The owner] is moving onto the next step of his life, and we’re transitioning. He wants to keep the history alive at the inn, and so do we.”
Richard and Patty Hubbard, the previous owners of the inn for over 33 years, currently act as consultants at the Brewster Inn. “They’re advising and teaching us about the stuff they’ve always done,” said Franks.
For the sake of its “legacy and longevity,” Gibson said that “it is nice to have them around and keep their faces so present, so people still feel comfortable and familiarized.”
“I think [the Hubbards] are enjoying that part where they’re able to schmooze with the customers and be more social,” said Gambee. “They still enjoy being a part of this place, but they are also really excited for us.”
“The house is definitely a Cazenovia staple,” added Gibson. “We want to keep that legacy and tradition going.”
“We’re constantly upgrading the place,” said Franks, regarding the 1890 establishment. While no major changes are planned to be made, the back lawn has been modified to decrease the slope, and fire pits and an outdoor bar have been added.
While the Brewster Inn is “one of the busiest restaurants in the Syracuse area during the summertime” according to Gambee, the Inn certainly keeps busy during the frigid winter months.
During the winter season, the inn features pop-up dinners, fish market specials and chef’s tables. “It gives us time to be creative and do some fun dinners,” said Gambee.
It is also a time for chefs to “bounce new menu ideas” off their customers, says Franks. Chef tables, an event started last year, features an on-display dining experience where chefs cook in front of customers. Pop-up dinners, a new concept at the inn, will feature theme dinners from specialized menus.
“Gradual change is the best,” said Franks. “We’re very humble in what we’re doing. We just do our jobs, and do them well, and the end results show.”
“I think the customers notice the little touches, and that’s what we’re so appreciative for,” said Gambee. “We’ve gotten really good feedback on everything. Everyone keeps saying, ‘I love the young energy that’s here’. A woman actually sent us a letter the other day and said, ‘I don’t know what it was about my last visit to the restaurant, but I’ve gone to the Brewster Inn for twenty years and last time I came in and felt this really great energy’,” describing a “vibrancy” in its atmosphere and how “everyone was so nice and accommodating.”
Gambee said the unexpected letter was much appreciated, and is a part of why the owners’ passion for the Brewster Inn’s foundation evolves with time.
“I feel so appreciative that a dinning establishment of this caliber can be in a small town like Cazenovia, where a good chunk of the population is agricultural,” said Gambee. “To have them support a place where you’re at, forty to fifty dollars a plate easily, it shows that they really love what we do.”
The Brewster Inn is currently featuring a winter special that offers 30 percent off food and beverages to any room booking. Rooms feature a range of features, from fireplaces to Jacuzzis. “It’s a great cozy little getaway,” said Gambee.
