The Dish
JACK LOONEY
Upgrading the The Mill Room was part of the Boar’s Head Resort’s 15-month, $15.5 million overall renovation.
New grist Boar’s Head Resort ups its food game with refreshed Old Mill Room By Shea Gibbs
O
ne name has long been absent from discussions of Charlottesville’s great restaurants: The Old Mill Room at the Boar’s Head Resort. Once a local standard bearer for high-end cuisine, the hotel dining room was overtaken during the past decade by a growing collection of top-tier local eateries with a fresher, trendier feel. The Boar’s Head team hopes to change that with a recent resort-wide renovation featuring significant changes to the lobby restaurant, now known simply as The Mill Room.
14 Knife&Fork Summer
The history of the Boar’s Head dates back to 1834, when an advisor of Thomas Jefferson’s built a mill on the banks of the Hardware River. More than 100 years later, the mill would inspire and provide building material for the resort’s flagship restaurant. Over the years, the Boar’s Head Resort and venerable Old Mill Room became destinations for Charlottesvillians and travelers alike. In 1987, the restaurant earned the AAA Four Diamond rating, and in 2001, the resort was named to the list of Historic Hotels of America. But according to resort marketing manager Joe Hanning, the Old Mill Room and hotel sur-
rounding it “started to look dated.” Modern travelers found the space wasn’t conducive to their lifestyle and pace, he says. “We have everyone from millennials to senior citizens, and we wanted a space they could enjoy equally,” he says. The goal of the renovation, started in early 2018, was to maintain the Boar’s Head’s oldworld charm while adding modern amenities. The Mill Room still features the massive, handhewn, heart-pine beams taken from the Hardware River mill, as well as the original hardwood floors, while new glass walls let in more natural light and provide views of the lakes and hills behind the resort.