Page 24 - RE-NJ

22 OCTOBER 2023
David Burke Hospitality Management, led by acclaimed chef David Burke, is partnering with Hampshire Destination Properties LLC to modernize the historic Bernards Inn at 27 Minebrook Road in Bernardsville.
Celebrity chef David Burke wasn’t looking for a new restaurant to add to his holdings, but when
the owners of the Bernards Inn asked him to revitalize the property, he jumped at the chance.
“When an opportunity like the Bernards Inn comes in, it’s hard to walk away,” he said.
It was the first step toward the partnership announced in July between David Burke Hospitality Management and Hampshire Destination Properties, a subsidiary of The Hampshire Cos.,
to revitalize the historic restaurant
and hotel at 27 Mine Brook Road
in Bernardsville. Renovations are underway, with the reopening of the restaurant planned for early October.
The project comes at a critical time
for the 116-year-old Bernards Inn, a former speakeasy that has survived fire, floods and
Prohibition,
building. ... We live in Bernardsville — most of the family members — so it’s very important to us. It was something we didn’t really want to sell, so that’s where we came up with David Burke.”
The renowned chef, a New Jersey native who now operates nine restau- rants in the state and 19 worldwide, said he was intrigued by the opportu- nity even though he’d just opened a Red Horse steakhouse in White Plains, New York, in April. The Bernards Inn is “a landmark location, was once one of the best restaurants in the state.”
It’s still a good restaurant, he added, but it needs to keep up with new establishments in the area.
“Some of the style and energy of the place kind of faded,” said Burke, who has been nominated twice for the
James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef award and appeared on “Top Chef” and “Top Chef Masters,” among other shows. “So we’re going to come in and rejuvenate. Fresh look, fresh feel, fresh energy, some music.”
All three upstairs dining rooms
have been gutted and are being rebuilt. The finished product will look like the equestrian-themed Red Horse locations in White Plains and Rumson, appropriate given the U.S. Equestrian Team Foundation and the Far Hills Race Meeting are located near Bernardsville.
“It’s a beautiful area,” Burke said. “It’s a landmark building with a nice layout, it’s got history.”
Planned menu items include Burke’s pink Himalayan salt dry-aged steaks
A FRESH TAKE
How Hampshire, celebrity chef David Burke are partnering to reinvent historic Bernards Inn
but was nearly
done in by
the COVID-19
pandemic.
Hampshire’s
Alex Imperatore,
whose family’s
company bought
the property in 2006, said he doesn’t believe it has recovered, estimating it lost 70 percent of its business.
“We said, ‘Who do you think could get this place back on its feet and back where we want it?’” said Imperatore,
a senior real estate manager with the fourth-generation, Morristown-based firm. “Because, as a family, we love this
By Marlaina Cockcroft
Alex Imperatore
Photos by Aaron Houston for Real Estate NJ