Years ago, a girl took a break from college and started waiting tables while pursuing art. Unexpectedly, she fell in love with great food and hospitality along

the way. Across town, at a rival restaurant, a young man had just returned home from a five year stay in Colorado.

We truly believe fate brought us together that night. I saw Bryon Jessee across the room, walked straight up to him, and said, "I think I know you."
Within minutes we solved the mystery: Seventeen years earlier when we were just 9 years old we had competed on little league bowling teams. I never forgot those big blue eyes. Fast forward from Abingdon, VA to Charleston SC, together we opened an art gallery, graduated from Johnson & Wales, opened a cafe, bought a house and got married in just a few short years.

We dreamed BIG and failed hard! Perhaps we were just not ready, or our ambitions were bigger than our bank account. We nearly lost everything! After that, we were ready for a change. It was time to head back to Virginia. Our lifelong friends had extended an olive branch and we took it. We had no choice. To this day, we're so thankful that they invited us into their home in Richmond. Their hospitality saved us.

It took years to get back on our feet. We got "real jobs" and swore we'd never own another business. We were going to be normal people. But as life would have it, we were not made for normal people ways. Just as we settled into a more conventional life, we learned we couldn't have children. We filled the void with hard work, determined to create a life that we could be proud of. Our faith taught us to believe that there was more in store for us. Somehow, all the years of failure and mistakes became the fuel and the foundation for something extraordinary! In 2010, we opened Richmond's first dessert cafe, and sixteen years later, we've grown more than we could've ever imagined!

People often ask how we did it and I always say: incredibly hard work, determination... and hotel stays.

This is where the hotel part comes in.

In 2011, an 80 hour work week at Shyndigz was pretty much the norm for us. At the end of the week, the thought of going home to a messy renovation project with sheets that smelled like chocolate cake and no functional bathtub felt unbearable. So one night, instead of going home, we checked into a hotel. It was the Omni Richmond Hotel. Bryon opened the door, and I saw a view of Richmond l'd never seen before. It felt like we'd escaped to another city and we were in the middle of the clouds. It wasn't extravagant—just clean, calm, and comforting. It felt like we were the only ones that existed up there in the middle of the sky! I ran a bath, and as the scent of eucalyptus bubble bath filled the air, I let it all go and I relaxed for the first time in a very long time. It was glorious. To this day, that smell evokes a feeling of such peace. Our hotel adventures saved us from week to week. We'd look forward to each stay, feeling giddy like kids over tight, crisp linens. We started to admire the small details and really noticed how both our business and the hotel business were centered around experience, hospitality, and the tiniest of details. We dreamed up exciting plans for our hotel. I'd sit for hours finding the most unique boutiques and send links to Bryon to put on our wishlist. We started to collect everything from our stays, market research we called it: soap. literature. room keys and more. I've been so inspired by some of the most thoughtful hotels in the world!

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One stay after the next, we were closer and closer to actually believing we could open a hotel! In 2020, we purchased the property at 1912 W Cary Street across from the original Shyndigz restaurant. It was there that plans were made to erect a 4 story boutique hotel that would adjoin a gleaming new shyndigz market! Several phases to this project would eventually lead to the final phase, the hotel. After nearly 2 years we finally opened that market with great success! We continued meetings, architectural plannings and city permitting for hotel construction. It was a Friday afternoon when Bryon and I had been at the beach and were headed back to Richmond. We took the downtown exit to Main Street to Shyndigz. I don't know if we'd ever gone that way before but thank goodness we did. As we rode down Main Street we noticed a sale sign in front of a beautiful mansion. "TURN AROUND," I yelled! We whipped around the block to discover Ellen Glasgow's house, and that is really where this story begins. We knew that very moment that Dear John Hotel would live in Ellen's house. In fact, the more we learned, the more we believed that fate had again delivered a beautiful story to write.

Dear John,

You've already stayed in more hotels than you can remember! My first hotel memory with you was when Uncle Bryon booked me a night in town because I needed time to focus on work. I was excited- it wasn't a fancy hotel, but it was new. Brand new hotels always feel like a treat!! As I was packing, your mommy called and asked if you could spend the night. My first thought was oh no, my room is already booked, but I quickly accepted an offer I could not turn down. I packed your little bag and scooped you up from daycare. You were almost 3 years old. I told you we were going on an adventure to a hotel. It was hard explaining what a hotel was to a three year-old! You asked "WHY" about 72 times but what I remember most is the way you pronounced Ho-tell with three perfect little syllables. I didn't get a single bit of work done that night. Instead, we had a dinner date, we swam on a cold November night and then snuggled up in a king sized bed for movie night. It was simple and ordinary, and somehow one of the best nights ever. That's why I love hotels so much. They give us permission to take great adventures, hide under the covers and take late night swims with our favorite people. I can't wait to share our very own hotel with the world!

Can you imagine what great fun we're going to have? It's our gift to give. Let the adventure begin!

Love always, Nookie