here's an article I wrote in 2006

Renaissance at the Red Geranium

(originally written for Evansville Dining, 2006)

In the town of labyrinths and legacies lies an inn and restaurant like no other. The New Harmony Inn and award-winning Red Geranium Restaurant are nestled on the wooded banks of the Wabash River in a community that began almost two hundred years before its time.

New Harmony was first a spiritual sanctuary that later became a haven for international scientists, scholars, educators and free thinkers who sought equality in communal living and an opportunity to share their ideas with like-minded individuals.

New Harmony continues to provide a refuge for intellectual thought and spiritual reflection and at the center of this cultural rebirth is the New Harmony Inn and Red Geranium Restaurant.

Robert Dale Owen purchased New Harmony, Indiana from Harmonist Father George Rapp in 1825 with the intention of building a new social order, emphasizing educational and social equality. In 2005, Owen’s descendants, who still handle the business and character of New Harmony, hired veteran hotel executive Manfred Gerling as general manager to conceptualize and execute a plan to reposition the New Harmony Inn to increase tourism while maintaining the restful and spiritually rejuvenating spirit of the town.

The New Harmony Inn was built in 1974 and is designed to reflect the soul and history of the community. The inn features ninety guest rooms, including eighteen with fireplaces, three with kitchenettes and four with sleeping lofts. Reconstruction was completed on April 8, 2006 with complete room renovations featuring modern amenities while preserving Harmonist simplicity.

The New Harmony Inn also offers several historic and unique guest rooms that are available for rent on a nightly basis and conveniently located throughout town. Guests of the Inn can enjoy complimentary wireless internet, 300-thread-count bedding, premium pillow-top mattresses, new bathrooms and furniture, a glass-enclosed and heated pool, Jacuzzi and sauna, walking trails, workout facilities, tennis courts, complimentary weekend carriage rides, golf carts and the culinary bliss of the renowned Red Geranium Restaurant.

The Red Geranium restaurant began in the summer of 1960. Mrs. Jane Owen employed Ms. Celia Turner to serve her freshly baked bread, hot tea and lemonade to people visiting New Harmony. The location of the tearoom in the Barrett Gate House (located next door to the present restaurant) became a popular destination for locals and travelers. Two years later the operation moved to the Green Gothic (located at the entrance to the restaurant) with business continuing to grow as guests wanted to refresh themselves after touring the historic town. The following year the Red Geranium Restaurant officially opened for lunch and dinner serving 135 guests on opening day. Today, the Red Geranium Restaurant continues to delight travelers and guests with world-class, Seasonal American Cuisine.

Chef Jeffery Bauer joined the culinary team as head of kitchen affairs at the Red Geranium Restaurant in May 2006. He inherited a passion for food from his grandfather, a professional baker, and his uncle and father, restaurateurs in Springfield, Missouri. Bauer has over a decade of experience working in restaurants, country clubs and anywhere he could find a kitchen, including such notable places as the St. Louis Hilton Frontenac in St. Louis, Missouri and the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. His dream of attending Culinary School finally materialized and he and his wife Jamie packed their bags and moved to New York. As a recent graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Chef Bauer understands what it means to follow a dream and he is proud to bring his vision to the new dawn of the Red Geranium Restaurant.

While at the Culinary Institute, Chef Bauer honed his skills and began to recognize his own individual style. He enjoys incorporating many different cuisines into his own unique creations with a flair for Asian, French and Classical American.

The menu at the Red Geranium Restaurant features the freshest possible local ingredients and many regional organic products, including Indiana goat cheese, yogurt and available produce, and it changes quarterly to reflect the seasons. The restaurant now offers heart-friendly items, daily Chef’s Features and a wine-paired, four-course menu that changes everyday with interesting, appetizing dishes such as Portobello mushroom pesto stuffed pork loin over apple cider-braised root vegetables with French green beans, crispy parsnips and a wild mushroom infused demi-glace paired with the concentrated structure and delicious character of California Zinfandel from Wild Hog Vineyards. The Red Geranium’s popularity and reputation for original culinary art and great wine has grown over the years, leading to the recent opening of a new wine bar.

The Grapevine Bar, located inside the entrance of the Red Geranium Restaurant, seats thirty guests in a romantically lit nest with rustic wood wainscoting, hand-painted walls of lush foliage and a vaulted ceiling. The knowledgeable wine staff can help you select a glass or bottle from the extensive, always evolving, world-class wine collection. They also encourage guests to choose from their wide variety of specialty bourbons, single-malt scotches, bottled import and craft beers, or one of three draft beers hand-crafted by Schlafly of St. Louis.

Ms. Audrey Hinderliter is now overseeing the operations of the Red Geranium Restaurant. The young and vibrant new restaurant manager spent several years as bar and dining room manager of the Petroleum Club in Evansville, Indiana before joining the New Harmony Inn in June 2006. She brings a fresh and dynamic new approach to the tradition of fine dining. Her youthful ambition, coupled with extensive wine training and culinary understanding will serve to elevate the establishment to an even higher plateau of excellence and outstanding service.

This year also brings the return of former Wine Director and founder of the New Harmony Wine Society, John Campbell. In 2003 Campbell came to New Harmony to reconstruct the wine program at the Red Geranium Restaurant and implement a new agenda with special events such as the New Harmony Wine Festival, Vintner’s Dinners, wine education seminars, food and wine pairing, live entertainment and much more.

The Red Geranium Restaurant emerged from humble beginnings as a small tearoom to the cornerstone of an historic American community, frequently visited by restaurant connoisseurs and wine aficionados from around the world. It has received wide recognition for its cuisine and wine cellar and was recently voted the most romantic restaurant in the region, but this is only the beginning.

The annual New Harmony Wine Festival has featured winemakers from France, Spain, Australia, California and Washington State. It was the first international wine event in Southern Indiana and set the foundation for a series of experiences that would change New Harmony into a destination for winemakers, vineyard owners and wine enthusiasts worldwide. The New Harmony Wine Society was established in July 2004 with 120 people attended the inaugural event. The New Harmony Wine Society is celebrating its second anniversary with over 500 members from more than a dozen states in America and several countries abroad.

With more than forty years of hospitality industry experience, General Manager Manfred Gerling looks at the bigger picture. As previous vice-president of development for such corporations as Hilton Hotels, Radisson Hospitality Worldwide and Princess Hotels International, Gerling recognizes the unique vision and talent of his staff and understands the cultural and spiritual significance of New Harmony. He foresees a rebirth and unparalleled future for the New Harmony Inn and Red Geranium Restaurant that will continue to draw international praise while maintaining the quiet serenity and rejuvenating qualities that have long been known as the town where the world comes to find harmony.