With fall around the corner, now is the perfect time to start thinking about a trip to the museum. Not just any museum, but the North Carolina Museum of Art which moved into its stunning new home four months ago. Located 30 miles east of Fearrington and located just off I-40 on the near side of Raleigh, it makes for a perfect day trip. Admission is free.

Just inspecting the structure itself is worth the trip.  This 127,000 square foot one story structure is a modernist marvel.  Outside, it is confident, forward looking and surprisingly subdued.  Inside, thanks to an open floor plan and an innovative design incorporating hundreds of evenly spaced ‘oculi’ or natural light filters in the roof, beautiful, even natural light floods the interior, complementing and connecting the wide-ranging art collection.  More...

Many area residents are familiar with the award-winning Carolina Brewery beers brewed just a few miles from Fearrington.  We’ve served several on tap at Roost, our beer garden which opened this spring, including the intensely hopped ale, Flagship IPA, the brilliant red ale, Copperline Amber, and the lighter ale Sky Blue Golden Ale.

If you’d like to hear more about the brewery’s exceptional ales and experience first rate beer pairing options, join us on Thursday, September 9th at The Old Granary Restaurant for fun beer pairing dinner. Experience a beer dinner featuring a three course menu created by Executive Chef Colin Bedford paired with Carolina Brewery beers. Hear from owner Robert Poitras and director of brewing Jon Connolly as they discuss the craft beers selected for the evening. The dinner begins with a reception on the patio at 6pm, followed by a seated dinner at 7pm. We’re excited too that this will be an opportunity to enjoy the taste of some new Carolina Brewery seasonal beers!

The price is $45 per person; call (919) 542-2121 to make reservations. We hope to see you there!

Each season brings a new exhibit featuring a talented local artist to The Old Granary Restaurant, and we're pleased to welcome Pittsboro resident Julia Kennedy, whose beautiful paintings just went up.

Richly colored and layered, Ms. Kennedy's oil paintings are complex renderings which seek to convey both passion and excitement. Each work builds upon itself organically, layer by layer and color by color as opposed to being constructed by design. Ms. Kennedy not only explores the surface of the canvas but also the unknown world hidden just beneath. 

As a self-taught artist, Ms. Kennedy has had several solo and group shows, and her works are in many private collections both here and abroad.  She also participates in the annual Chatham Studio Tour which takes place the first two weekends in December. Come take a look at these bold and expressive paintings at The Old Granary!

Travel & Leisure’s 15th annual readers poll is out, and we’re delighted Fearrington House is listed – in two top categories!  A record number of votes were cast this year in which readers were asked to rate their absolute favorites in the categories of top hotels, destinations, airlines, cruises and so on.

First, The Fearrington House is listed at the 5th best Inn (defined as under 40 rooms) in North America.  Second, it was rated 71 of the world’s top 100 hotels.  This year almost 70% of the top 100 hotels were outside the U.S., mainly in top worldwide resort destinations.

Many thanks to those of you who participated in the survey, and shared your opinions about The Fearrington House!

Ever since Roost opened a few months ago, we’ve been excited to have talented area musicians play, adding to the ambience and fun of the beer garden. But now that we’ve settled in a bit, we have something even better – a music schedule! Check out the schedule of musicians playing at Roost during the month of July, and plan your schedule around your favorite musicians, or make a vow to listen to someone new!

Musicians perform from around 5 pm to closing time at 8pm Thursdays through Saturdays, and play from 2pm to 5pm on Sundays. 

They include folk/blues guitarist Mark Holland who hails from the “Paris of the Piedmont”, Carrboro.  Pittsboro native and respected songwriter Tommy Edwards, who plays guitar for “The Bluegrass Experience”, also joins Roost’s roster. Craig Thompson, who plays bass for the Raleigh-based band, Old Habits, will be there, as will Jonathan McGinnis, an up-and-coming talent from Hickory who plays the classical guitar while not in classes at UNC.

So bring your friends, grab a pint of Carolina Brewery beer and light fare and enjoy live music under large oak trees for a truly enjoyable and relaxing evening!

You may have heard The Fearrington House Restaurant just turned 30.  Thirty! It’s a pretty amazing accomplishment (especially considering that most restaurants don’t make it past a few years).  But yes in May 1980 the restaurant opened in the former Fearrington homestead, a white columned colonial house set on a hill near Chapel Hill.

As my father, proprietor R.B. Fitch, recalls: "When we started the restaurant, our goal was to provide a dining experience that was not just 'eating a meal' but encompassed exceptional local cuisine, service, gardens, ambience, art and so on. The most remarkable dining experiences my late wife, Jenny, and I had occurred when all these things came together."

One of the secrets to providing this sort of experience has been a stable and dedicated management team. Dutch-born Maitre d’ Joris Haarhuis is a familiar and friendly face to guests, having been here 18 years! Austrian native Theresa Chiettini coordinates all, as General Manager; she’s been here 10 years.  Colin Bedford has been executive chef for 18 months but has been here a total of five years. And the same owner continues to set direction and foster an environment in which teamwork and collaboration thrive. 

This rare continuity has provided the opportunity for the restaurant to focus on things like menu development, a great wine program, local sourcing, and AAA Five Diamond service.

I’ll talk more about this special anniversary and how we’re celebrating it in future postings, so stayed tuned!