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| The bar in Victor's Bistro |
I am
very fortunate to have traveled around the world with my job. But I very rarely
eat in hotel restaurants. I find them quite bland and lacking in atmosphere,
and I prefer to taste some of the local culture. So I usually venture outside
of the hotel doors. But although hotel restaurants can get a bad rap from
people like me, there has been a countervailing trend gathering strength over
the last decade or so, and some of the hottest restaurants are now opening in
hotels, proving to be destinations for locals and tourists alike. Spearheaded
by topnotch hotel/restaurant partnerships in Las Vegas, hotels are recognizing
that a lot of people travel for culinary reasons, and a great restaurant brand
or a well-known chef not only promises a superior dining experience, it brings
celebrity status to a hotel.
Imagine
my surprise to find evidence of this trend last week in Florence South
Carolina. I was there doing some research looking at the potential for tourism
development in the Pee Dee region, and I was blown over with what I found. I
stayed at the Hotel Florence, a
relatively new boutique hotel in the revitalized downtown district. The
49-bedroom hotel is made up of three of Florence’s historical buildings that
have been renovated to create one space of 35,500 sq. ft. The old Schofield
Hardware structure is the main hotel building, which includes the hotel lobby,
guestrooms, and the hotel restaurant Victor’s
Bistro.
Victor’s
has been an integral part of the Florence community for almost 15 years.
Awarded “Best of the Pee Dee: Fine Dining” for the past 8 years, Victor’s is
recognized as one of the area’s most upscale and elegant restaurants. Tim
Norwood, a native of Darlington, South Carolina, purchased Victor’s Bistro in
2003. Tim graduated from Francis Marion University with a degree in political
science, and has been an active member of the Florence community for many
years.
The
restaurant moved into the Hotel Florence last May, bringing with it a host of
experienced personnel including Steve Gibson as General Manager and George
Floyd as Operations Manager. The pair were headhunted from Columbia where they
had both been working for many years in the fine dining sector. “It’s really
exciting to be here,” says Gibson. “People here say they are looking for a lot
out of us all. We’re supposed to be the best. We’re doing this by taking advice
from guests and improving the experience for everybody.” With a background at
Columbia’s trendy Motor Supply Company and Ruth’s Chris, Floyd came to Victor’s
last March to help with the renovation and transition. “It’s been really neat
the number of local people who’ve come in and said ‘Gosh, we’ve come into New
York City!’” says Floyd. “But when people from New York and Boston and
Chicago come in and say the same thing, that’s when it really hits home.”
With
its upscale décor and ambiance, first-rate food, mellow musical entertainments
and meticulous service, Victor’s and the Hotel Florence are the cornerstone of
the downtown revitalization project. Can’t wait to see how the forward-focused
area progresses!
