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Chocolate Berkshires is coming to town just in time for Valentine's Day

Area Businesses Dipped in Chocolate, Collaboration

By Nichole DupontiBerkshires Staff
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LENOX, Mass. — Area businesses are banding together to add a little kick to winter and the local economy. Next month, more than 22 inns, restaurants and retailers are dipping into Chocolate Berkshires, a month-long event sponsored by the Berkshire Visitor's Bureau. Lindsey Hammond, the Bureau's director of sales and marketing, says Chocolate Berkshires provides an opportunity for local businesses to liven up an otherwise sleepy time in the Berkshires.
 
"This is a county-wide promotion. There's not a lot going on in February and it's a good way to extend the Valentine's Day season," she said in a phone interview. "This isn't just limited to lodging and restaurants. We want to cast the widest net possible."

Delectable chocolates from the Red Lion Inn.
 

That net includes the Red Lion Inn, the Berkshire Bach Society, Chocolate Springs, Gypsy Layne burlesque, Qualprint and the Berkshire Historical Society, each of which will include the delectable dessert on their menus, rooms, performances and more. Joshua Needleman, owner and head chocolatier of Chocolate Springs, said that Chocolate Berkshires is the perfect testing ground for future multi-business collaborations.
 
"The inspiration for this was to see a little more collaboration around Berkshire County," he said. "Chocolate is a great medium to express creativity. Restaurants are making special desserts, there will be screenings of chocolate-themed movies in the county, [and] people are doing artistic pieces. Everybody can really do their own twist on it."
 
Chocolate martini glasses, chocolate tours and chocolate spa treatments are among the many creations Chocolate Berkshires has inspired. It also may have gotten the ball rolling for future event-based collaborations.

"Let's see if this can get some legs," Hammond said. "We are doing this with no money – no funding. It's sort of been people doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. We all want to get more visitors here. And what a fun way to go out and explore your community and see what's happening in your own backyard. We're going to see how this works."

Collaboration is not the only goal of Chocolate Berkshires. According to Needleman, chocolate provides a more obvious opportunity as well.

"It's the ultimate comfort food," he said. "It's also a neutral item, it's not political, you don't have to pay to be involved. It's fun and hopefully it will be a springboard for other events."

Chocolate Berkshires is still accepting applications for participants. For more information visit its website or Facebook page.

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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