A new family just bought the Abigail Inn, a beloved bed and breakfast on the further end of Lexington’s Main Street, and the inn is getting a lot of updates. 

Thierry, Jessica, and their daughter Hanalei Lemercier took over the business in November, and they have worked quickly to make the business feel like home. 

“We wanted to add more refined amenities to the [guests’] experience,” Thierry said. 

The Lemercier’s have already added individual Lavazza espresso machines and new linens to the six guest rooms, and they have worked to revamp their menu offerings, which they feature prominently on their Instagram, @abigailinn. They post pictures of what is on the menu every few days and they are proud of their offerings.  

“As of now the menu is really the biggest change that we have done,” Thierry said. 

The Lemercier’s are the first owners to offer an a la carte menu for their guests, allowing them to choose what they want for their breakfast the night before. 

They are also trying new promotional ideas like a winter sale. Now until the end of March, people can rent a room for $125 a night, which is 50% off of the usual price to stay in a room. 

In the future, the family wants to make even more changes to the business to make it even more inviting for guests, including a back patio and firepits so that the outdoors can be conveniently accessed year-round, but with the impact of COVID-19 on the hotel industry in Lexington, it might take some time to make those renovations a reality. 

Since the start of COVID-19, the hospitality industry in Lexington has been hit the hardest. According to the January revenue graphs for the city, the lodging tax is down 35% compared to last January. Other local hotels have had to adjust and revamp their hotels to make the business better including Tonic which was the Sheridan Livery Inn until September. 

Even with that staggering statistic, the Lemercier family is elated to be in Lexington.

For the past few years, the Lemercier family has lived in the Woodbridge area of Washington, but Thierry was in the Virginia Military Institute Class of 1998. He said that returning to Lexington felt like coming home. 

 The husband-and-wife team have worked in the hospitality business since 2008, and they cannot wait to share their passion for hospitality with the Lexington community. Right now, they are doing all of the cooking and housekeeping for the inn, which has really helped them interact and create friendships with their guests. 

 “We want to take the time to understand what Abigail is and improve her,” Thierry said. 

 They were given the keys by Landey and Becky Patton who ran the inn from 2011 to last year, but the Abigail Inn has gone through many transformations in its lifetime. 

 The inn originally opened in 1928 as a Washington and Lee fraternity house, then a foster home for the greater Rockbridge area, and then an Inn. The original name of the inn was the Seven Hills, but the Patton’s changed it when they took over.