Essex, Connecticut might not seem like a particularly important town to anyone who doesn’t have an interest in the minutiae of U.S. history given that it’s smaller than major cities like New York, Boston, or Philadelphia. However, despite its relatively small size, it has a story that dates back to the early founding of the country and that can be traced back almost entirely to Griswold Inn.
The town used to be a small village, but when the young nation needed a navy, Essex boomed into life as a shipbuilding hub for the U.S. As with any seaport, there are often inns and taverns that spring up as a place to exchange information, socialize, and relax after assembling the crafts that would eventually protect the American shorelines. The Griswold Inn was one such place, and eventually became one of the oldest, continuously operating establishments in the U.S. from when it first opened its doors in June of 1776.
However, its history, while important, isn’t the only reason the Griswold Inn has a story worth talking about. Which is why it’s worth exploring the Feel Good elements of the restaurant.
What Feels Good About the Griswold Inn
It may be a bias, but respecting the history of a place can always make it a bit more feel-good at a baseline. However, Griswold Inn takes it a step further by largely maintaining the integrity of the experience you would find walking into an 18th century tavern by keeping much of the decor, the structure of the rooms in the building, and the menu in-line with what contemporaries would have seen in the 18th century.
In addition to the general aesthetic, Griswold Inn’s team does a fantastic job of creating a dining experience that is memorable for both its novelty and its quality. Rather than leaning into the decoration to carry the business, Griswold Inn’s managers have developed businesses that may not be traditionally associated with the tavern industry of yore, but makes it possible for people to engage with the historical landmark in a variety of ways that aren’t prescribed to one or two avenues of business.
It’s a prime example of meeting a customer where they are, whether it’s the history buff, the epicurean, or the tourist looking to glimpse some small fragment of history.
The Growth Elements of The Griswold Inn
With the low margins inherent in the food and beverage industry, the Griswold Inn could have taken a variety of avenues to ensure its longevity that would likely have been more profitable than continuing to run the business as a place to eat and sleep. However, as the owners of the business have stated, they took a stewardship approach to its operations rather than a profit-focused one, and that requires an entirely different approach to growth.
For the Griswold Inn, some of their ability to sustain profitability comes from their leaning into the novelty of their historic providence, but one lesson they can teach other businesses is how to create an experience through their diversified ecosystem of services.
The Historical Angle
There are many ways to incorporate history into everyday operations for a brand, and some of them have already been talked about in the Feel Good Friday series, but what’s unique about the approach the Griswold Inn has taken is by taking the history of the inn as a community mainstay of a colonial New England town that played a major role in the Revolutionary War and turned it into an opportunity for visitors to take a little piece of it home.
The owners of the business have incorporated collections of artifacts from throughout the inn’s history for visitors to admire, organized events that reflect its history, and offers a wine bar for those more interested in a modern take on old classics, but it also has opened a gift shop filled with memorabilia inspired by the story of the Griswold Inn and Essex more broadly.
From a strategic perspective, this offers a complementary product line to help increase overall revenue, but it also adds more to the customer experience in the process. That makes it easier for customers to keep coming back, because they’re not just getting a room at the inn, but a platform they can use as a springboard to the rest of the town’s history.
Looking at Leadership
When you go to a restaurant, you can usually get a feel for what kind of leadership they incorporate into their business through the presentation of the brand in its content, collateral, decor, and management of its people. With the Griswold Inn, that resembles a version of servant leadership that’s uncommon today.
What’s in a Word?
If you look at most of the writing about the owners of the business, you’ll find little reference to ownership; instead, they call themselves “stewards” of the building, and that makes a tangible difference in how the business gets perceived.
Rather than being profit-driven, the experience of the Griswold Inn is one where you can come and enjoy yourself without worrying about how long you’re taking up a table, because the team has organized everything around ensuring that customers enjoy themselves and the history they’re surrounded by rather than being preoccupied with profitability. It’s undoubtedly true that the business is sustaining itself, but it’s equally true that they aren’t trying to maximize that profit margin, because if they did, they might be richer while depriving the community of the history they value so highly.
The Bottom Line
Businesses that rely on historical province to deliver value to customers often depend on educating the public about why they should care. In the food and beverage space, restaurants can often deliver value not by relying on education but by delivering an experience that connects the past and present, and the Griswold Inn has done that effectively enough to warrant its continuous existence since before the founding of the United States.
Whenever businesses last as long as the Griswold Inn, it’s usually because they found ways to pivot so that they meet the updated needs of the customer base. However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to maintain the core business, if you’re a little inventive in the process and willing to leave ego at the door. By leaning into a little education, a little spectacle, and a focus on serving others rather than strict profitability, the Griswold Inn team has stayed relevant throughout its over 250 years of operation in the Essex community.
However, if you’re just looking for a great place to relax while enjoying a meal and maybe appreciate a bit of programming to go with it, the Griswold Inn is a great place to do that while visiting Essex.
Before You Go…
This is part of a series of articles highlighting businesses operating in the food and beverage space as part of an initiative to share feel good stories coming from local businesses. There's a few things you can do to support this initiative:
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If you're a business or customer that's got a feel-good story or a recommendation, shoot me a message and it may be featured as part of Feel Good Fridays.
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