Welcome to the Chagrin Falls Merchant Association Podcast. This is exciting! Molly and I are honored to work together to bring this show to you.
Small businesses supporting and collaborating with small businesses is what it's all about.
And that’s what we’re creating here today.
My name is Megan Moran and I am the owner of Mompreneur Co. Studio right here in Chagrin Falls. Our vibey space offers mindful entrepreneurs, creatives and businesses a place to start a podcast, record their next course or social media videos, host a content pop up day or get together for their next meeting or photo shoot. And as a podcaster and producer myself, I’ll be creating and hosting this show for you.
What is the Chagrin Falls Merchant Association?
Molly: I am Molly Gebler and I am the president of the Chagrin Falls Merchants Association.
The Merchants Association was created 3 years ago. It started very grassroots. A couple of local business owners said, we need to focus on getting awareness strictly to Chagrin Falls businesses and started a group.
Now we have an incredible board, and an incredible events committee who are really committed as am I.
Chagrin Falls is my life. It's my baby. It's my passion. So I want to do whatever I can to continue to support these small businesses. I've only been president for a year now but I was the executive director of the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce for over eight years.
So, it was a easy transition for me to take this role and I was very excited because with the chamber, that's 14 different communities which is sometimes very, very hard, especially when you have a charming and gorgeous village like Chagrin to focus on all 14 and give all your babies the same love.
In my new position, I'm able to give love to a place that I've lived in since I was 15 years old.
My big thing is getting eyes on and feet in the village.
We have about 60 members, and our directory as well as events are a huge selling point because it brings patrons to the community to shop, eat and explore.
Another great thing about being part of this Merchants Association is that we have a voice in the village. We have a one on one with the mayor, we're meeting with the president of council and they're listening. So to have a collective voice is super important in any kind of group.
We also host some happy hours for an intimate moment between the merchants. As a small local business owner, you’re usually working most of your business hours yourself, then you're leaving at 5pm and you wanna just get out and go. So we're trying to get everyone together so it feels less lonely.
I'm a big supporter of: How can I help you? And you're going to help me just through conversation, know? So I think the merchants getting together is a huge value.
And with this podcast, oh my gosh, I'm beyond. We're going to be able to get the word out about how incredible Chagrin is and our members are going to be able to share their stories.
There's going to be so much value both ways, for the listener and guests.
What you can expect from this podcast
Molly: In each episode, we'll share:
Events that are going on in the association.
Deals and events that our members are hosting.
Potentially some giveaways.
What's going on in the village in general.
Answers to your questions- we want to hear from you in the comments.
And then we’ll dive into the interview with a shop owner.
Where you’ll get to know them both as a person and in their business.
If you are a merchant and you're not a member yet, come join us here.
If you’re a member and want to be on the podcast, book your time slot here.
Shop Owner Interview: Molly Gebler
The History of the Inn of Chagrin
Megan: So the inn obviously has been around for a while and has made a complete transformation in the past couple of years. A lot of this is in due part to you.
So can you walk us through the inn pre-Molly, and and then where it is now.
Molly: Yeah, so pre-Molly goes back to 1927 when Mr. Clarence Crane, purchased the property 87 West Street. He was a chocolatier (the Willy Wonka of Cleveland) and his shop, Crane's Chocolates, was in Cleveland. He wanted to retreat to the country, so he bought 87 West parcels and merged 3 buildings together to build Crane's Canary Cottage, which was a restaurant.
Duncan Hines, yes the cake mix, was actually a person. And he would visit different places and then release a publication of places that he loved to eat. And he loved Crane's Canary Cottage.
The Rockefellers, the Lindenbergs, lots of famous people were frequenters because Mr Hines loved the location so much. So we were in that publication.
He and his wife, Bess, ran the inn. And Mr. Crane actually had a son named Hart Crane, who is a top 10 poet in our country.
And it even gets better folks. Mr. Crain is the inventor of the Lifesaver.
As I mentioned, he was a chocolatier and he was at a baseball game and was enjoying a piece of his chocolate, but it was melting on his hands. He said, I need to invent a piece of candy that I can enjoy at the game that won't melt on my hands. So he went to his friend who was a pill maker, borrowed his pill press and made the first lifesaver. (Pep-O-Mint was the first flavor.)
So our guests, when they come in, instead of a piece of chocolate on their bed, they get two lifesavers and the original ad from the 1800s.
The Inn of Chagrin today
Fast forward, Mr. Crane died in 1931 and his sister, Beth Crane ran the restaurant until the war. It closed during the war, and then that building became several things.
The artificial plant company is a big one that a lot of people remember because was that for a long time.
Then the parcels split off. It became a very famous restaurant, Gamekeepers the 80s. And then the inn opened in ‘91.
A cool story about when we bought it. (We meaning the Monven Group, the owners of Burntwood Tavern, M Italian, Leo Social, owned by Bret Adams.) He bought it September 1st, 2021.
I found a poetry book from Hart Crane, Letters to My Family, and it's letters mainly to his mom, grandma and dad. There's a couple of letters back and forth to his dad, talking about building the restaurant in Chagrin Falls and how he always wanted to open it on September 1st, 1927.
Due to construction issues, he didn't get it open. So I thought it was super cool that our purchase date was September 1st, 2021.
I talk to Mr. Crane often, you know, saying I hope that we did you proud.
We had 15 rooms very dated room (no disrespect to any previous owners) and they needed a lot of love and attention. They were very 1990s, the curtains matched the comforter matched the pillow carpet, all burgundy, hunter green and navy blue. Plus is was 2021 so just coming off of COVID.
We were lucky enough to partner with American fashion designer and Project Runway winner Christian Siriano.
It was difficult because we took over an inn that had been in existence since ‘91. It had a database of guests who have been staying there forever. So, the last thing you want to do when, was alienate an already comfortable database.
It was long conversations between Bret, myself and Christian. We wanted to give him his freedom, right? Because that's what he does. But we also want to make sure we maintained that charm because we didn't want anyone to come in and be like: “This is all so modern- I don't love it anymore.”
He did a phenomenal job with listening to that. We kept a lot of furniture (they don't make furniture the way they used to.) We have post beds from 1991, whereas I know I've already bought two beds in my marriage, maybe three. It was all Brewster and Stroud furniture, Arhaus house furniture.
We reupholstered where we could and that also helped. The returning guests would come into a room where there were some familiar things to them, but now it's just cleaner and brighter.
I look back at what we did in two and a half years and am really, truly proud of what we accomplished.
I mean, it was a labor of love. It wasn't cheap. But our guests deserve it, and we're proud to have done it.
Focusing on the Details in Business
I knew nothing about running an Inn. Absolutely nothing. I knew Chagrin Falls and I knew how to take care of people. I knew Bret was brilliant when it comes to numbers. So I knew I could get guidance on that part. But I also had no idea what a chamber was when became executive director. So, you do figure out, right?
So it's been great. I mean, it's located right in downtown Chagrin Falls. You don't have to get in your car to go anywhere. You park it and you're done- everything that Chagrin Falls has to offer is just footsteps away.
Megan: Right. I think that’s something so different, special, unique about what you do in hearing your story- is the details. Every detail. I mean, the fact that you put the lifesaver on the bed with the ad. It’s an experience.
I think it's so beautiful that you've thought through all of this from, from the lifesaver to not wanting to alienate the database of the people that you already have and talking with Christian about keeping the integrity of the area, but also modernizing it and bringing in a new crowd. I know we’ve stayed for an anniversary getaway night even though we live here because of the renovations and amenities.
I’m curious though, you said this is your home and you’re all about hospitality, but that this wasn't your background.
So how did you became the managing partner of the Inn of Chagrin?
Molly: I worked with Brett when he opened his first Burntwood 14 years ago.
I ran my dad's dental office for 25 years. My dad was just starting to slow down a little and Bret opened Burntwood on East Washington Street.
I was sitting on the couch looking at the host stand and everybody that was coming in, I knew, they were just friends. And I was like, gosh, wouldn't that be fun to just stand there and basically say hello to all my friends all night long.
I said to Bret: “Hey, I would rock as your host.” And he giggled but a couple weeks later he calls and he's like, are you serious? Do you want to? And I was like, yeah, why not? You know?
So I started there, and then, became a server and then became a manager and then left him to go to the chamber.
Managing the Chagrin Falls Chamber of Commerce
COVID was one of my proudest at the Chamber. Everyone talks about how they made banana nut bread or sourdough. And I was just like, I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't have a second because that was probably my hardest working time to make sure that these small businesses stayed alive.
We did amazing work during that time. First responders week, the duck race. That was a baby that started during COVID cause we couldn't make any money. So just proud of everything I did there.
So keep moving forward, my mother always taught me if someone invites you somewhere, you just go cause you never know what that's going to bring you.
So Bret said: Hey, can we talk? And I was beyond fine at the chamber, absolutely loved my job. We were sitting at the bar, at M Italian and he said, I bought this place out in Twinsburg, Aaron and Moses, and it has a party center and a restaurant. What would you say if I asked you to come and run events at the place?
And I said, I don't know anything about Twinsburg- it's not my passion. But we were sitting at the bar and
I pointed to the Inn of Chagrin and I said: But you ever buy that, come talk to me. And it was literally a couple of weeks later and he called and he said, well, I've got that.
We're the Monven group, for the Monarch Butterfly, so we take things and we make them beautiful. And that whole project has been a labor of love.
I don't know if anyone's been into M Bevy? What he did with that space is incredible. Two original chandeliers from Higbee's hanging over the bar.
And the rest was history as they say. We purchased it, we remodeled it, we had a huge party: West Fest where we blocked the street off. Christian was there, he signed, he danced, we had a great time and the business is thriving, it's growing and I'm enjoying every second of it.
The Inn of Chagrin Brings Visitors from Around the World
We saw 49 states and 18 different countries last year. I just left to come here and record and there's two people from Columbia right now.
Lots of business. When you're from the area and you think of Kinetico, you're like, yeah, it's the water source. But they're international. They’re headquartered in Newbury but they bring in people all the time from Spain and all over. And businesses like to house their people here because they don't have to get them a car.
They Uber them in from the airport and they take them out to dinner at all these amazing restaurants. So it's just a great location.
For brides and weddings too!
You just sit down with the guests and you get to know them and you think it's these people’s hard earned money. And they're choosing to come to and stay the night at the Inn of Chagrin. That's a choice. And we are honored and privileged to have been part of that choice.
Maintaining Your Mindset in Business
Megan: I think it's so beautiful that you touched on your mindset, because I think that that's something as business owners that can be challenging.
And I think it's insightful for customers to know, just like that meme that circulates, as small business owners, we care and we literally do that happy dance when a purchase is made- it means something us.
You can tell that with you that this means something too. The details mean something, the stories, the interactions, the community, they mean something.
And I don't like to say it's not easy because I don't like to put that out there, but every day isn't sunshine and rainbows and unicorns and butterflies.
So as you've traversed so many different things from a family business to finding your place in what you love and being pulled into the chamber and now the Inn because you're so good at that.
How have you managed this whole new career that you've never done before?
Molly: I'm actually celebrating, May 17th will be three years for me.
You know what, life's a journey. My first dad passed away when he was 36 years old. I was blessed to have two dads. And my mom at 73, so if you take the average, I probably shouldn't be here.
I am a person who can't just be. I have to be being. So I embrace the fact of transitioning into something new, learning something new. I'm not a stressful person.
Megan: How? How do you do it?
Molly: My mom, that's the answer.
My mom was a widow at 32 years old. She had four of us. We were two, four, six, and eight. So I owe everything to her, just being strong. She didn't stress about things. She was the best hostess in the world (so I think that's where my hospitality comes in.) I think my compassion for people comes from my second dad, who was a dentist, who cared and loved his patients very, very much.
And then just adjusting. Life's too short. Too short to be stuck in somewhere that you don't want to be in. Not that I was stuck in the chamber whatsoever. That was a very, very, very, very difficult decision me. I had just turned 50, which you guys can all do the math to know how old I am. And I kind of felt like this is the last chapter. So if I'm going to do it now. Now is the time to do it. I felt I had successfully done everything I needed to do to be able to leave a position and be proud.
Megan: That's beautiful. I mean, your mindset is impeccable, which only makes sense from like all of the things that I've seen from you. You magnetize things to you and you are magnetic.
I believe it's not what's taught. It's what's caught especially with motherhood.
And so I think it's such a beautiful sentiment you're saying about your mom. And you can see in you explaining her, so much of it all mirrored in you.
Molly: She was amazing. And I have two amazing daughters. I have a wonderful husband who's very supportive. And then I have two amazing five year old grandbabies who are the love of my life.
For all of you who are not grandparents yet, I am telling you, it is a life changing experience. If you thought you loved your kids, ugh. Just wait. You want to eat your grandbabies. So that's my little life in a nutshell. I did write books. I made a documentary. So there you go.
Megan: Casual, no big deal. Just a “little,” amazing life.
Molly: But again, life is short. And this podcast is the beginning of a legacy that you and I are building so that our local business owners can have a platform to share whatever it is they want.
Megan: That's one of the beautiful pieces of podcasting, that this will stick around for years to come.
This episode was produced by Megan Moran at Mompreneur Co. Studio.
If you're a mindful entrepreneur, creative, or business looking for a Vibey space to start a podcast, record your next course or social media videos, host a content pop up day, or get together for your next meeting or photo shoot, then head to mompreneurco.com so that you can book a studio tour today and see what our place is all about.
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