28 YEARS AGO. . .

28 YEARS AGO. . .

French Country Restaurant Opens in Washington The culinary history of Rappahannock County added a chapter last w eek with the opening of a French country restaurant by Patrick O’Connell and Reinhardt Lynch - The Inn of Little Washington. For Patrick and Reinhardt it was the fulfillment of a dream that’s been five years in the dreaming. During that time the two partners have spent hundreds of hours planning and refining ideas as to what a country inn should embody. They visited, studied and worked at similar operations throughout the area. At the same time, they continued consultations with an architect on THE perfect design for their restaurant and settled on the building which formerly housed the Country Store of Washington, Virginia as first choice for a location. Neither Patrick nor Reinhardt are strangers to the county. Both of the partners have lived in the Sperryville area for the last six years. Patrick, who will direct the Inn’s kitchen as Master Chef, is originally from Washington, D.C. and discovered the “First Washington” as a child on family excursions to Skyline Drive. He attended Catholic University, George Washington University, Moy Institute of Oriental Cooking, L’Academe de Cuisine and the Culinary Institute of America in New York. Reinhardt, the Inn s "front man” and manager, is an Indiana native, who attended the University of Brussels in Belgium and Indiana University. He cultivated an interest in French food and wines while in Europe and worked for a catering cbmpany in the Midwest before making his home outside Sperryville six years ago. WTiile wanting to fulfill their mutual ambition to own and operate a country inn, the two men ran a successfully catering service throughout Rappahannock, Fauquier, Loudoun, and adjoining counties getting to know the area and the people. Patrick and Reinhardt credit part of the inspiration for their Washington Inn to L’Auberge Chez Francois, a highly successful French country inn and one of the District’s finest French restaurants. They insist they can keep charges reasonable and stay in business. We re doing a great deal of the work ourselves,” Patrick explained. Most places start out with the expense of paying a chef and then they have to pay a manager - big chunks right off the top.” By filling these two roles themselves, the partners hope to keep their expenses, and more importantly to customers, their prices down in a range that most Rappahannockians can afford. Although offerings change daily, entrees will generally average between $6 and $8 per person. Patrick and Reinhardt have great hopes for the success of their enterprise. The community has been keeping up with the progress of work at The Inn, watching with interest for signs indicating the restaurant would soon open. As renovation neared completion, prospective customers practically laid siege to the new Inn.