The Norwich Inn...

Joe Lavin bought the Norwich Inn this August. It is a 27-room full service Inn, located across the river on Main St in Norwich Vermont, just 1.5 miles from the Dartmouth Green. I recently had the pleasure of talking with him about his Inn and Dartmouth Football connection.

Q: What is your connection to Dartmouth Football?
A: My son, Tyler Lavin ‘05 was the place kicker for the team from ’01 to ’04. I came to virtually every game and many times stayed at the Inn. There were often other Dartmouth parents there and we just came to love the atmosphere.

Q: What prompted you to buy the Inn?
A: I had been a career corporate hotelier with a number of companies; mostly engaged in strategic planning, development and franchising. I had observed, with great respect, the entrepreneurs who make our industry go and always wanted to be one of them. So I finally took the plunge this year, buying the Norwich Inn. It has a great location, and is an historic, one-of-a-kind property. I grew up in the Boston area and love Dartmouth and the Upper Valley. What could be better?

Q: What kind of services does the Inn offer?
A: We have 27 guest rooms, a restaurant and pub. We make our own beer on site—Jasper Murdock’s Ales--and has a great following in our very lively pub. The Inn is reasonably priced and very convenient to the Campus—about 3-4 minutes, depending upon traffic, such as it is in the Valley.

Q: Are you going to be relocating to the area to manage the Inn?
A: My wife, Jill, and I love the area and will be looking to relocate over the next year or so. I have hired some very able and energetic Innkeepers to manage the property day to day. They are Jason and Tiffany Gershon, a newlywed couple who have just moved up from Connecticut. I will often be at the Inn and hope to say hello to any parents if they are staying or eating with us.

Q: How can you work with the Football parents?
A: Football weekends are always full for our guest room business—this fall is already sold out; some of our customers are football parents. So think about next season early.

I would like to offer a special room rate for the parents coming to the season-end 2006 football awards banquet. We will take 30% of our normal rates which range from $84-$169.

If there is enough interest, I will open our Pub (which is normally closed on Mondays) just for the parents to gather and continue the evening after the conclusion of the banquet.

As for other times when the parents may be visiting, I urge them to call the Inn and ask for myself or Innkeepers Jason and/or Tiffany, and mention you are a football parent—we’ll go the extra mile meet your needs.

Of course,the pub and restaurant are a great place for people to gather so we’d love to accommodate anyone who comes over. If you call for a reservation, mention that you are a “Football Parent”.

Q: How do we reach the Inn?
A: The website is: www.norwichinn.com

You can call us at 802-649-1143.

If you want to reach Jason or Tiffany via email:

innkeeper@norwichinn.com