THE BOILER BROKE, BUT NOT OUR SPIRITS!

Our staff still remains optimistic, upbeat, and now...excited about our re-opening.  It's been an incredibly challenging 7 days.  As many of you know, our boiler broke.  It could not have happened at a worst time of the year.  We had to cancel reservations (dinner and hotel), take emergency measures to prevent pipes from freezing, search for a crew that could handle the work that would ensue, order the replacement boiler, etc.  Day after day, we're asked, when will you reopen?  And day after day so far, we've had to impose on our patrons to be patient, because we're working at a feverish pace to try to get this resolved.  The Hunterdon Democrat just wrote an piece on the situation we're facing, and we're grateful to them for covering this story:  http://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/index.ssf/2010/12/broken_boiler_temporary_closes.html

Finally, there's light at the end of the tunnel...the new boiler is installed, and if all goes well with the testing the crew has been doing, we just might be open later today.  We'll keep posting updates on our facebook page and send tweets about when our doors will reopen.  And here again is where the Frenchtown resilient spirit surfaces again:  instead of anger and frustration by our patrons and clients who have been thoroughly disappointed by not being able to enjoy our numerous programs, including our Wednesday singer/songwriter series, By The Fireside, our Thursday Open Mic Night Frenchtown Underground, our Saturday Night Live Music Series, our Sunday People's Poetry, or even our Sunday Musical Afternoon music series...what we've heard back is just pure words of encouragement, sentiments of sympathy and empathy.  After all, Frenchtown has suffered from floods, from road closings, and numerous other events that have forced businesses to close in years past.  And perhaps that's what makes this town's residents all the more endearing to Pete and to me.  They never cease to amaze me.

From day ONE, we received an outpouring of love and support from the Frenchtown community and the surrounding area.  We are truly grateful.  And with the holiday season upon us, it truly feels like a magical time.  And we going to open our doors in style, officially introducing our executive chef, Lisa Frederick, who has been captain of this ship for several months now, preparing exciting dishes for our Additions to the Menu on the weekends, and working hand-in-hand with us to update our last menu to include seasonal items from sustainable farmers.  I hope you'll make the time to come and say hi to us, and to congratulate Lisa on her new (OK, not so new now...) role at The National Hotel.  She, Marlon, our General Manager, and Kasey, our Lead Bartender, along with everyone at The National Hotel, can't wait to see you and say hello.

Post a comment here if you have any feedback you'd like to share, or as always, feel free to email me at marie@thenationalhotelnj.com.  I look forward to hearing from you.  Happy Holidays to all our friends!