Barry and Deborah Herring and Courtney and Dietrich Gosser. photo by Paige Langenderfer
Family Buys
Brown County Inn
~ by Paige Langenderfer
The Brown County Inn is getting a facelift. The hotel, restaurant, bar, and banquet facility on the southern edge of the town of Nashville is under new ownership and they are ready to give the property a makeover.
Built in 1974 and last renovated in 2002, the Brown County Inn captures the charm and atmosphere of days-gone-by, but new owners Barry and Deborah Herring and Courtney and Dietrich Gosser are working hard to make sure that the property also features modern and up-to-date facilities.
“ This hotel has such a huge history in this community,” Barry said.“ Everybody around here has memories of this place. We want to honor the heritage of the Brown County Inn, but update it and give it some general TLC.”
“ When we first looked at the hotel we thought it would be a great project to be able to give this place back to the community— to reinvigorate it with energy,” Deborah said.“ We immediately saw the potential.”
Changes will include painting inside and out, new carpeting, landscaping, adding recycling and composting, a new guest room 24 Our Brown County • July / August 2015 key system, a new computer system, and updated Wi-Fi.
“ There aren’ t going to be many things we won’ t touch,” Courtney said.“ The bones of it are just right and the size is perfect. It just needs a facelift.”
The hotel will likely close the month of January for guest room overhauls.
Barry said it’ s an exciting time for his family as well as the community. He and his wife Deborah are looking forward to managing the hotel with their daughter and son-in-law.
“ This is a family project for us. We want it to be owned by our family forever. We hope our grandkids are running it someday,” he said.
Each of the four family members / owners has a specific role in operating the hotel:
• Barry will focus on financial aspects of the business and will work with contractors
• Deborah will focus on hotel operations
• Courtney will manage marketing and event planning
• Dietrich will manage the restaurant and bar
While all four owners have extensive business experience, none of them have ever owned or managed a hotel.