A Vermont restaurant and inn is closing after 38 years, but a new incarnation is planned

An inn, restaurant and wedding destination that has been in business in Bristol for 38 years is shutting down this weekend.

The Inn at Baldwin Creek & Mary's Restaurant will close May 23, according to a post Tuesday on its Facebook page.

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce our bittersweet decision to officially step out of the restaurant-inn business and into much anticipated retirement,” according to the post.

The restaurant on Vermont 116 outside Bristol also offers lodging and has served as a site for weddings and other community events. The Inn at Baldwin Creek & Mary’s Restaurant is owned by chef Doug Mack and his wife, Linda Harmon.

“There’s no real final farewell or huge party to celebrate our 38 years as part of this wonderful community,” according to the Facebook post. “But the time has come for us to move on and enjoy a new adventure.”

A similar business is expected to occupy the space. 

"While we are saddened for this chapter to end, we leave knowing that a new couple will carry on," the Facebook post reads. "Kate Baron and Jason Kirmse, with young children (much like us when we first came here) will reimagine the place very soon. And although it will not be Mary’s it will definitely be another special place where memories will be made."

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Mary’s Restaurant, with an elegant dining room and woodsy outdoor patio, is “the perfect place for a local burger and craft beer or a romantic dinner and artisan cocktail,” according to its website. The restaurant’s May menu features items including crab cakes, steak Diane, roasted broccoli kung pao, bananas Foster and lu.lu ice cream from a Vergennes business run by the couple’s daughter, Laura.

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The couple’s Facebook post says they will help their daughter “grow her business” and will work on other projects, including an update on the restaurant’s cookbook.

“What began as a little 50 seat restaurant on Main Street in Bristol grew into a place that has welcomed thousands of guests and employed hundreds of people over the years,” according to the Facebook post. “We are humbled to have been a part of so many lives. Mary’s is special.”

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Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com. Follow Brent on Twitter at www.twitter.com/BrentHallenbeck.