photo by Cindy Steele
“ It has been a big learning curve for us,” Barry said.“ We hired 99 percent of the existing staff. We couldn’ t have done it without them. They’ ve been extremely gracious and are teaching us about the business.”
Deborah said she has been surprised by the amount of maintenance involved in operating a hotel.
“ This is a big building with a lot of working parts. Something breaks almost daily,” she said.“ We have quickly learned how hard it is to keep things maintained.”
One thing Barry was surprised to learn was that the Brown County Inn is one of the ten largest employers in the community.
“ I think the community really wants to see this place thriving again,” he said.“ Town officials have been incredibly supportive. We want to make the community proud.”
The project has been a major investment for all of the owners, especially Courtney and Dietrich, who moved to Nashville from Madison, Wisconsin to pursue this new dream.
“ A couple of months ago, I was eight hours away in my own world. Today, I’ m in this wonderful community, running a hotel with my family,” Courtney said.“ There have already been so many wonderful moments. It’ s definitely going to bring our family together more than ever before. It’ s magical.”
While the change was less dramatic for Barry and Deborah, the journey to hotel ownership has been just as magical.
The pair first fell in love with Brown County 18 years ago, when they purchased a weekend home in the area.
“ We were living in Chicago at the time and both had very high stress jobs,” Barry said.“ We wanted someplace remote, quiet and peaceful to get away from the city on the weekends.”
Barry, Deborah, and their six children spent nearly every weekend at their Brown County get away, and loved the tranquility of their time in the woods.
“ It felt like our blood pressure dropped 20 points when we got to Brown County,” Barry said.
“ It’ s perfect here,” Deborah said.“ I remember never wanting to leave.”
Courtney attended camp in Brown County every summer with her siblings.
“ Growing up spending most of my time in the city, it was neat to come here and actually see dark at night and stars in the sky. It was nice, quiet family time,” she said.“ The wildlife was so amazing and the terrain was so different from anywhere else. It’ s hard not to love it here.”
Two years ago, Barry and Deborah gave up the city life to live in Brown County full time.
“ We just love it here,” Deborah said.“ Brown County has given so much to us. We’ re excited to be able to give something back to the community. It’ s so neat to think about people having weddings at the inn and enjoying themselves. I think it’ s going to be wonderful. It gives me goosebumps.”
The Brown County Inn is at the intersection of State Roads 45 & 135 in Nashville. The Inn’ s website is < www. BrownCountyInn. com > and the phone number is( 812) 988-2291. •
July / August 2015 • Our Brown County 25