New owners rebranding as Cypress River Inn, feature French fine dining
A Civil War-era property in downtown Snow Hill is set to reopen under new ownership, as a local group of investors plan to redevelop the former River House Inn as a boutique inn, French restaurant, and high-end wedding venue later this year.
“It just needs a lot of love,” said Catherine Casto, one of the partners and a Snow Hill native. “It hasn’t been really updated in a long time. We want to maintain the historic charm of the house and just bring in all the luxury amenities to make it a really nice upscale lodging destination.”
Catherine and her husband Darren Casto are partnering with Jeff and Tammie Faille, founders of The Street Kitchen in Berlin, to take over the 2.15-acre property and rechristen it as the Cypress River Inn & Spa. She expects they’ll settle on the purchase by the end of the month.
Renovations to what historians call the George Washington Purnell house – a 6,743-square-foot Gothic Revival mansion built in 1864 – are planned over the next few months, with a late spring opening targeted.
Their vision is a 10-room venue anchored by a destination restaurant, helmed by Jeff Faille, a French-trained chef with culinary experience in local restaurants like Fager’s Island and the Atlantic Hotel.
I’m afraid they are barking up the wrong tree with high dollar, fine dining in this area.
The area could use a good French restaurant.
Never going to work. You don’t build a high class establishment in the armpit of the universe.