The Cranbury Inn had been closed since February for renovations and expansion.
By: Jessica Beym
The smells of turkey, fresh vegetables and sweet cranberry sauce that may have wafted out onto the street on Thanksgiving weren’t necessarily coming from the homes on Main Street.
Just in time for the holiday, the Cranbury Inn reopened this week to serve a dining room full of guests. On Thursday, it was expected to have Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings on the menu. The inn will now be open at 11 a.m. seven days a week.
The inn had been closed for renovations since February work the owners, Tom Ingegneri and his wife, Gay, had been planning for almost a decade.
"It’s a beautiful concept that we had 10 years ago, but it’s all been well worth it," said Mr. Ingegneri.
After struggling to get site plan approval since 1996, the Ingegneris were finally given permission in 2000 to build a 10,621-square-foot addition, renovate the kitchen, and add parking and new landscaping.
When they bought it 13 years ago, the couple sat down and listed all the changes they hoped to make to improve the 18th century inn.
"We wanted to put an addition on the inn that would make it last forever," said Mr. Ingegneri. "And I think we did just that."
The old kitchen, with its cedar walls and limited workspace, was demolished and replaced with a modernized 2,220-square-foot kitchen complete with stainless steel appliances, such as walk-in freezers, and food preparation areas.
The addition will more than double the restaurant’s size when it opens in either late December or January.
Made of 200-year-old white oak and designed to resemble a seven-bay barn, the banquet hall will be used for weddings, event nights such as dinner theater and corporate meetings.
Over the next few weeks the finishing touches are being added. The walls will be painted an off-white, a dark burgundy carpet will line the floors and shiny, brass chandeliers will hang from the oak rafters of the 30-foot ceilings.
Inside the hall, a wide wooden staircase leads to a balcony with a waist-high wooden railing that wraps around the room. Upstairs, there is a bride’s room and a lounge that looks out on a lobby and fireplace.
Mr. Ingegneri said the unfinished construction hasn’t put a damper on wedding reservations for next year. So far, there are already 23 weddings booked for 2006.
"One woman came in and she cried literally cried when she saw the room," said Mr. Ingegneri, who showed the customer the bare bones of the unfinished banquet hall. "She said, ‘This is what I’ve dreamt of. This is what I’m supposed to be married in.’ "
During the designing stages, the Ingegneris said, they wanted to be sure to keep with the inn’s history, which dates back to 1750.
Mr. Ingegneri said the design of the addition resembles a barn that had been behind the inn until it burned down in 1902. Just a few feet outside of the banquet hall, the cement-post remnants of the old barn’s foundation mark the original site.
By working with the Historical Preservation Advisory Committee, Cranbury’s Historical and Preservation Society and professional architects, the Ingegneris came up with a design that captures the historical feel of the 18th century inn and makes a pleasing addition to the rest of the Historical District.
"We didn’t want it to be striking from the road," said Mr. Ingegneri. "We wanted it to be a subtle thing. It’s a part of Cranbury and we wanted it to show that."
Before the Ingegneris were given approval to expand, some residents feared the addition would be anything but subtle. Some said the expansion would affect traffic in town and the value of their homes. Approval was granted to the Ingegneris on certain conditions, including adjustments to their original site plan and specific parking regulations that went through several revisions.
The inn will be required to use valet parking during functions expected to serve 130 people or if the total number of people exceeds 250. The inn is also required to keep the restaurant exclusive to "fine dining," to prohibit bus and delivery parking from surrounding streets.
With the renovations, guest accommodation rose from 250 people to 400, and the new parking lot, which has access from Main Street and Station Road, has space for 120 cars as opposed to the original 66.
During wedding parties or other large events, there is an arrangement for the overflow of cars to be parked in the First Presbyterian Church of Cranbury’s lot across the street and also in empty spaces along Main Street.
"Parking isn’t an issue. We’ve never had that type of problem," said Mr. Ingegneri.
The previous waiters and other kitchen staff will be returning to work. However, a new chef will be taking the reigns in the kitchen and additional staff will be hired to help with the banquets.
"Nothing has changed," Mr. Ingegneri said. "It’s all just the same as it was. We did it to preserve the inn."