You might have noticed that we’ve been posting a bit less on our blog and social media lately. There’s a good reason! We’ve been busy, busy, busy with our first fall season at the Andon-Reid. As longtime guests know, autumn in Waynesville/Western North Carolina is absolutely stunning, and tourists and visitors flock to the area. Given that it’s the Thanksgiving season, it’s a good time to reflect on our first busy season since we took over the Inn back in July. We have so much to be thankful for and reflect upon. This is the perfect time to put those thoughts down on the blog.
For starters, we’re incredibly thankful for all the loyal Andon-Reid guests that visit the Inn year after year. We’ve met so many wonderful people that grew accustomed to visiting the Inn under George and Andrea and we appreciate those loyal guests sticking with us through the ownership change. It’s amazing to get to know folks who’ve called Andon-Reid their home away from home for so many years. We’re humbled to know how much people value the Andon-Reid and have made it a huge part of their lives.
With that in mind, it’s also time to note our gratitude and appreciation for what all the prior owners have done to make the Andon-Reid what it is today. We recently had multiple visits from members of the Rothermel family (including Ann and Don!), who made sure to show us their album of photographs and tell us stories from when they started the Andon-Reid and refurbished this beautiful home. The amount of work that went into the home was just incredible and all the features and additions have stood the test of time.
Similarly, we can’t express enough our thanks to George and Andrea, who built a great business which was about as turnkey as it could be for new owners. They’ve been supportive to us after the acquisition and are always available to answer questions and provide feedback. We are proud to carry on their traditions and standards and hope that we can build on them in the future. They built such a solid foundation for us to jump off from and it allowed us to shorten the learning curve as we took over the business right in the middle of the summer heading into the busy season.
Also, while we knew Waynesville was wonderful before we came here, we’ve had some time now to experience firsthand how special this place is. Beyond just the utter beauty of the surroundings, the community is full of life and a vibrancy that’s palpable every day. The Apple Harvest Festival, Folkmoot, Church Street Arts and Crafts Fair, Treats on the Street and other amazing events we’ve been to are such fun! We’ve also struck some fun partnerships with local Waynesville vendors, like Waynesville Soda Jerks, and we’ve enjoyed experiencing all the local restaurants. Waynesville really does have an amazing food scene! We look forward to seeing this region continue to thrive and grow along with the Andon-Reid in the future.
Finally, we are so incredibly thankful for the hard work of our small team and the support of our friends and family. Our small team consists of Shelly (our amazing housekeeper) and Bob (our do-it-all assistant Innkeeper), who’ve both worked so hard to give our guests the best experience possible and have supported us wholeheartedly through this transition. They both bring unique skills and passion to their job, which we appreciate and witness every day. We’ve added a “Meet the Team” page on our site so you can learn more about the folks helping make the Andon-Reid operation run smoothly!
As we head into the winter, we are even more excited about the future of the Andon-Reid. Looking back on the fall and all the guests we’ve met, we feel like we’ve added so many people to our family and we can’t wait to host everyone again on their return visits. The best feedback we can receive is a guest who wants to come back to the Inn.
Thank you to all our guests this fall who joined us at the Andon-Reid during these last few months. We are excited to see you all back at the Inn again in the near future and we can’t wait to meet new guests experiencing the Inn for the first time.
See you soon at the Inn!
–Brenda and Peter
