Hotel Vermont’s Juniper is a hit, and the upcoming Hen of the Wood is sure to follow suit. Now hotel owners Jay Canning and Chuck DesLauriers are hoping to spread their success to a third restaurant.
According to Canning, the Park Café in the Marriott Courtyard Burlington Harbor, which he and DesLauriers also own, will soon undergo an extreme makeover. In November and December, Kim Deetjenand her team at TruexCullinswill remake the hotel lobby and its restaurant with blues, lots of glass and a large, sculptural chandelier. Inspired by the eatery’s lake views, the Park’s new menu could make it Burlington’s first upscale seafood restaurant.
Chef Wayne Freeman already cooks specials featuring fish from Wood Mountain Fish, and the regular menu includes locavore dishes such as steak frites with Boyden Farm sirloin and Bayley Hazen Bluecheese butter. But regional coldwater seafood and Vermont-grown meats will be the central theme of the new restaurant. “We want to focus more on that and get away from the traditional club sandwiches and such,” Canning says.
With a winning plan in place, Canning is still on the hunt for a name as eye-catching as that of his Hotel Vermont restaurant. And he’s willing to shell out for the right choice, offering a “reward” of $500 for the name he selects.
Canning hints that he particularly likes single-word monikers, such as Juniper and other TruexCullins projects, including Spur in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Salt in Portsmouth, N.H.
Think you’ve got the right name for the fresh-seafood-focused restaurant? Email Canning and co. at jason.nocie@marriott.com before September 30 for consideration.