Middleburg Life
Serving the Hunt Country of Northern Vriginia
for Over 23 Years

Blackthorne Inn Sets a Goal to Focus on True Irish Hospitality
by KRISTEN ARMSTRONG, Staff Writer
(Created: Monday, July 9, 2007 11:03 AM EDT)

After more than 20 years as the 1763 Inn and Restaurant, the historic property off Route 50 in Paris, recently changed hands, and has been reinvented as the Blackthorne Inn.

While still providing many of the same amenities as the 1763 Inn, the Blackthorne Inn offers a different kind of experience, with an Irish theme
and brand new pub, Wolf Tone's.

The inn's new owner, Shane O'Connor, who worked for about 11 years as assistant manager and executive chef at the Middleburg Tennis Club,
looked at the property in spring of last year, and said he was taken by how gorgeous it was - and the amount of potential it had.

The inn, built in 1763 and owned at one point by George Washington, sits on about 45 acres of land, and has 17 rooms and a carriage house.
“I'd been looking for a restaurant, and I never thought I'd get involved in something so big,” O'Connor said in a recent interview. “But I'm attracted to the beauty, the old country theme. It reminds me of Ireland.”

Though running an inn is quite an undertaking, O'Connor has the help and support of his family, with whom he emigrated from Ireland in 1987.
His parents and four sisters all have key positions working at the inn. All of them have worked in the food and beverage industry, and collectively have about 120 years of experience.

“We get along now, but we'll see in two years,” O'Connor joked. “We're a tight family. They are my backbone through the whole operation.” O'Connor said he appreciates the history of the property and named the pub accordingly. Wolfe Tone's is named after Theobald Wolfe Tone, who is regarded as the father of Irish republicans, and who coincidentally was born in 1763.

The pub offers a more casual dining experience than the restaurant, and will give guests the chance to try pub fare with an Irish twist, like rabbit stews and lamb curries. A full Irish breakfast also will be offered in the pub each morning.

Each of the inn's rooms is named after an Irish county, and is decorated in the artistic style of that area.

O'Connor also has added outdoor seating, a wine room and a tea-service room, and plans on using the pavilion for themed events, such as dinner mysteries.

“Our whole thing will be Irish hospitality,” O'Connor said. “I love dealing with people, and when you have an inn, you get to know them and sit with them.”

The inn and dining room are set to open on July 20.

Copyright © 2007 Suburban Washington Newspapers Inc.

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08/2/207 The Irish land in Upperville
By: George Rowand , Times Times-Democrat Staf Writer

There's a lot of restaurant experience in the new team that bought the 1763 In in Uppervile recently and have turned it into the Blackthorne and Restaurant.

"We sat down the other day and counted, and we figured out that the they've had about 120 years in the restaurant busines," said Elizabeth O'Conor, wife of owner Shane O'Conor.

The busines is being run by a number of members of the O'Connor family, brothers, sisters and in-laws. "Shane has four sisters, and his mom dad, and they're al involved in the restaurant," O'Connor said. "Shane was approached by the former owner and others about owning and running his own pub and restaurant, he stil said 'no,' it wasn't until his family agreed to come here that he decided to take it over."

The property includes places to stay. "There are 17 rooms, including four individual log cabins with fireplaces or Jacuzis, porches, decks or patios," she declared. Irish with a twist With a last name like O'Connor, one has to figure that there is some Irish blood there somewhere, and that would be corect.

"The family comes from al over Ireland," O'Conor stated. "The father was a lighthouse keeper, and he was posted around the country, so the children were born in diferent places," said Michele O'Connor Peirson, a sister to Shane O'Connor.

O'Connor said that the family has been in the building since April, doing renovations to the dining room and lounge. There is a stone patio where outdoor dining is ofered.

The pub menu includes items like Irish seafood chowder, smoked salmon tartare, salads and sandwiches griled shrimp or red snapper, fish and chips, Shepherds pie, and Indian lamb cury. The entrees are ofered until closing time, though the menu may be more limited later in the evening.

The menu in the dining room includes appetizers like sauteed sweetbreads and wild mushroom tartare, soups potato and leek, salads and entrees like chicken breast stufed with garlic fresh herbs, veal chops, and seared red snapper, simmered Bahamian-style. "The menu changes quarterly," O'Connor stated. "It is very seasonal. And we have a pastry chef on staf, so we make our own breads - including Irish soda bread - and pastries right here."

The Sunday brunch promises to be extensive, O'Connor said. "It wil have a raw bar, a carving station, eggs Benedict, meat and fish and wine, and it wil include a glas of champagne," she said.

O'Connor praised the location. "We're right next to [U.S.] 17, so Warenton isn't far, and we're located on [U.S.] 50, so people from Winchester and Middleburg can get here easily."

There wil be live music and other entertainment in the pub. "Some Irish, but not always," O'Connor stated. "We'l feature local musicians."

O'Connor said that parts of the inn date to 1763, and that George Washington's name is on the deed to the place.

The busines also is available for catering, both on-site and off.

"We have an extensive catering busines," O'Connor said. Weddings, parties, anniversaries . you name it, we're equipped to handle it. So far, the largest wedding that we've handled is 650 guests, here in Uppervile."

O'Connor said that al the members of the family are keen on presenting the inn and restaurant as a good-feeling, homey kind of place to dine or stay for night.

"The family has a gift of hospitality," she stated. "They make you feel like you're dining with friends. Shane is happiest when he's making other people happy, and that's the lifeblood of this busines, I think."

The Blackthorne Inn and Restaurant is located at 10087 John Mosby Highway in Uppervile.

The phone number is (540) 592-3848. the Web site is www.blackthorne-inn.com .

The main dining room is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

It is open for Sunday brunch from noon to 4 p.m.

The pub is open Wednesday through Monday from 11:a.to 11:30 p.m., and late on Friday and Saturday evenings when there is live music.