WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — Tucked off Euclid Avenue, the striking stone Willoughby House is hard to miss. Its outer beauty is what sold co-owner Mike Neundorfer and his brother Paul into buying the building nearly two years ago.
“Paul and his partner drove by here and his partner looked it up and said this place is for sale so within a few weeks, we bought it,” said Neundorfer.
Formerly known as the Willoughby Mansion, built in 1902, the space was first a home, but as years passed it turned into a girl's school, then eventually an assisted living facility in the late 80s. The building sat vacant since 2017 until the Neundorfer brothers came along. They wanted the space to be a center for gathering again, and, above all, a celebration of its history.
“The big part of this experience was the community of Willoughby and so many people are still connected to this place,” said Neundorfer.
After 20 months of serious renovations, the Willoughby house now has 7 suites in the main house and 3 two-bedroom suites in the carriage house for overnight guests. Each room is unique, filled with different details like original furniture or drapes. And it's now home to the restaurant Julia's 1902 named after Julia French Boyce, who commissioned the mansion over a century ago. Head Chef, José Coronado is in charge of the fine dining menu mainly inspired by his Guatemalan roots.
“I am playing around with a lot of food from my country,” said Coronado. “Bringing a lot of stuff from Mexico, Guatemala and fusion American.”
And just know if you are paying a visit to stay the night, dine in, or both, there's no tipping allowed.
“We wanted to create a team of people who were compensated with a living wage, with health care, with paid time off,” Neundorfer said.
Neundorfer nurtured and saved the historic building from the inside out, and he believes the guest experience starts from the inside as well by paying his team livable wages.
“If we work as a team and we can create the kind of success we want we all share in that success,” Neundorfer added.
Outdoor renovations for patio dining are currently underway. The Willoughby House is also hiring. If you’d like to apply click here. The grand opening is next Thursday.
