HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 2 MONTHS SINCE OPENING...LET'S START 2010 WITH SOME MUSIC ON THE 17TH.

Happy New Year's!!! 2010 is finally here! And today is our 2nd month since we opened our doors!!! We closed out 2009 with such a fantastic night...full house, fun night upstairs and continued celebrations downstairs at The Rat. We're already planning ahead for other festive evenings and musical weekends, kicking it off on Sunday, January 17th, with Sandy Zio joining us at our Rathskeller lounge, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Not only is she terrific, you have no idea how many emails we've gotten from fellow musicians who absolutely love her! Some of them on this very blog...

So much has happened in less than 2 months--we opened our doors on November 3rd...and yet, it's become our home. We live & breathe The National Hotel. Our children feel comfortable going into the kitchen and asking our wonderful staff for this or that. Our girls sit, eat, and chat with the members of our staff. The conversations range from what's happening in school, to history, to movies, to the work at hand, and even world events. It's so good to see such a sharing of different lives. It's an extended family.

Even our customers, who graciously come back again and again, have become part of our extended family. They hear about our joys and woes and share their lives, bringing us into their lives, their daily experiences, their history and family. All this over great food, terrific drinks, and what we hope feels like a comfortable and inviting ambiance. The winning combination of a professional and experienced kitchen staff, led by Ron Rittenhouse, to our terrific bar staff, led by Kasey Goyette, complemented by exceptional service from our wait staff, to overall management with attention to every detail from our general manager, Marlon Aranha, continue to deliver a blue ribbon experience for our customers.

We hope to see you soon...and we'll soon post photos of Lisa, Glen, Brenda, Lynn, Ryan, and Juan...and yours truly (who is always behind the camera)...who weren't on shift when we took these photos...I think it's time for a group shot actually, don't you?

Anyway, let's celebrate the arrival of 2010 together! Share this post with your friends and spread the word about Sandy Zio performing at The National Hotel on January 17th! Until then...