ANDOVER, Vt. – Brigitte and Jason Fijal moved to Vermont from Southern California postpandemic, looking for business opportunities, eager to hunker down, enjoy a fresh start, and become part of a community.
Jason was born in Massachusetts, and Brigitte is from Indiana. They met while shooting a music video in Los Angeles, where Jason was an award-winning production designer. Brigitte is an actress and a trained ballet dancer, earning a scholarship with the Joffrey Ballet at age 16.
When this talented, hardworking, creative couple were first introduced to the historic building at 1834 Simonsville Road in Andover, long-known as Rowell’s Inn, they felt something Brigitte described as “magical.” She recalled that when the realtor mentioned the third-floor ballroom where previous owners held dances, she looked at Jason and said, “This is it.” They purchased the property in January 2024.
After months of loving and meticulous restoration, the Fijals have imbued the space with their own magical energy, and are embracing their status as faithful stewards and innkeepers to the newly christened The Inn Between. They have also reopened the cozy and inviting Old World pub they are calling the Which Way Tavern. As Brigitte writes on the inn’s website, “More than once have we been asked in our short time here, which way is it to Chester? Londonderry? Springfield? Weston?”
The inn happily welcomes families with children – “We love to have the littles running around,” Brigitte shared – and provides a pet-friendly atmosphere where guests are encouraged to “unplug” and relax, read, or make new friends. Brigitte even has a cross stitch pattern maker in the common area.
In other words, as Brigitte said, offering a wooden pencil engraved with the name of the inn, “We kick it old school.”
The couple plans to honor the building’s rich history and tradition as a gathering place and respite for road-weary travelers since Edward L. Simons first purchased the building in 1826 and opened a stagecoach stop and post office. In 1910, Frederick Rowell bought the property and called it Rowell’s Inn, a name that remained for over 100 years.
Jared and Christina Smith and their family took over the inn in 2018, and began renovating the building, which had deteriorated since being shuttered in 2012.
“Jason and I could see all the hard work Jared and Christina had put in,” Brigitte recalled. Both couples had fallen in love with the details of the stunning architecture, and shared a vision of not only bringing the historic property back to its glory days, but enhancing the inn’s sense of “where history meets hospitality.”
The building is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the original plaque hangs once again at the inn, a gift from Beth and Nick Anaclerio. Brigitte thanked them on the inn’s Facebook page, writing, “Beth’s parents, Beth and Lee Davis, were the dedicated stewards of the Inn from 1981 to 1999. Lee poured his heart into preserving its history, painstakingly sourcing and restoring era-appropriate hardware and fixtures that allowed the Inn’s rich past to shine through. Meanwhile, Beth brought the Inn back to life with her extraordinary culinary creations, transforming it into a renowned destination once again. Through their combined hard work and passion, the inn achieved worldwide acclaim, celebrated in magazines, books, and articles.”
In that spirit, Brigitte has been curating photographs and items with historical value from the inn, the Rowell family, and previous innkeepers. A display cabinet in the lobby houses some of these special antiquities, and others can be found around the inn. Brigitte said she is grateful to Jonathan Stevens from the Andover listers department, and Peter Farrar, vice president of the Chester Historical Society, who were kind enough to spend time helping her research.
A variety of masks gathered from the couple’s travels cover two walls in the study, and some of the pieces they’d had in their home in Agua Dulce, Calif., seemed to fit in seamlessly at the old inn. “Everything really feels meant to be,” Brigitte remarked.
The inn has four guest rooms, each named after someone associated with the inn’s history: Simons, Rowell, Peabody, and Sibby and Patricia. A fifth room, the Tavern Suite, a large, private suite with a living area and kitchenette above the Which Way Tavern, is also available to guests.
Brigitte said they are looking forward to celebrating a spooky Halloween, and that the inn may or may not be haunted. She is also excited about the spring and summer seasons, when they plan to fence in the backyard and host outdoor concerts.
The Fijals have created a unique place to stay for out-of-town visitors who want to experience both the history and natural beauty of Vermont, and a spot for locals to stop in for a pint, or a hearty bite of something special Jason created in the kitchen. The tavern’s cuisine could be called vegetarian comfort food, with dishes like Beyond Korean tacos, caprese panini, or vegetable bisque.
Read more about the inn’s history, and stay up to date on current happenings at www.theinnbetweenvermont.com.