NEWS

Orchard House B&B makes local sourcing a priority

Drew Bracken

GRANVILLE - Granville’s Orchard House Bed & Breakfast is trying to take local sourcing to the next level.

Owners Dean Lowry and Jodi Mefli have established partnerships with local businesses to provide their guests with items like baked goods, coffee and organic produce, among many other things.

“Our guests are worldly, health and socially conscientious, and they want something meaningful with their stay,” explained Lowry.

In addition to being the B&B's full-time innkeeper, Lowry is also the breakfast chef.

“My goal is to locally source as many of the ingredients as possible,” he said, “such as my hens' eggs, veggies, fruits and herbs from our gardens, coffee from One Line Coffee, tea from Petali, meats from local farms, breads from Lucky Cat, fruit from local producers and of course, maple syrup from Loudon Crest Farms. If I could figure out a popular alternative for orange juice, I could get very close to 100 percent local!”

“In the last months we’ve added Three Oaks Vineyards, who are just about 10 miles away, as our vintner of choice,” he added. “And we strive to have at least one of our three cheese selections representing local dairies.”

Orchard House, a TripAdvisor Green Leader establishment, has long embraced environmentally friendly practices. Their water treatment system, for instance, uses natural purification processes to meet quality standards that do not require damaging chemicals.

Their paper products, laundry and cleaning supplies, all purchased from a local Going Green supplier, are all recycled and compostable.

They don’t change the bed linens, towels or robes in a guest room unless requested. And they don’t use harmful pesticides or chemicals on their gardens, lawn or orchard.

“We're very aware of our environmental impact,” Lowry said. “This, combined with extreme attention to detail, puts Orchard House on the cutting edge of the Best B&Bs in the World.”

The Orchard House, a classic, brick Italianate on 12 acres, was built in 1850 by Job Paige and his family.

The property passed through more than 15 different owners in the following 100 years.

In the 1950s the state established it as the first licensed home for alcoholics. Saved from demolition in 1969, the house was restored as a family home. Orchard House honors some of the prominent figures of the property’s past by naming the rooms after them.

For more information call 740-651-1850 or log on at www.orchardhousegranville.com.

Coming events

• Orchard House B&B will be showcased at the Taste of Home Cooking School from 7 p.m to 9 p.m on April 14 at C-TEC in Newark. For more information and tickets, log on at www.newarkadvocate.com.

• Orchard House will have a silent auction item available at the Taste of Granville on April 30 at the Bryn Du Mansion. For more information about that event, log on at www.tasteofgranville.org.