This blog post is part of our ‘The Francis is turning five!’ celebrations…
The story of The Francis started over a cup of coffee at Tandem. In 2015, Nate was sitting in the bakery when he noticed a ‘for sale’ sign at the old brick mansion across the street.
The building had been vacant for over a decade and needed some serious work. After growing up in Yarmouth and working in real estate in Portland for years, Nate knew the area well and saw potential. And after talking to his brother Tony, who was managing two hotels in Ogunquit at the time, they started exploring the idea of transforming the historic mansion into a boutique hotel. Together with their younger brother Jake DeLois and childhood friend Jeff Harder, they got started and on October 3, 2017, they opened a small, charming, independent 15-room hotel.
Nate and Tony took some time to reminisce about the renovation process, what has changed over the last five years and shared their recommendations about what you absolutely cannot miss next time you visit Portland.
Five Questions with owner Nate DeLois:
What is one of your strongest memories of renovating & opening the hotel?
I have a few standout memories about getting this project off the ground. The first is meeting with Tony, Jeff, and Jake in coffee shops all over the city, drawing our plans on paper, reviewing spreadsheets, and discussing ideas for the hotel. We were really caught up in both the creative and analytical process and the hotel was something that we worked on around the clock. I didn’t even have an office yet, so coffee shops in town became our meeting space – particularly Arabica back when it had the Commercial Street location. Their coffee still reminds me of planning The Francis.
Another standout memory is when we opened to our first guests – a wedding party that we had booked halfway through construction. At the time, we were doubtful that we would be open in time, but our excellent builder, Wright-Ryan, swore that the renovation would be completed in time for the wedding. During the final month of construction, they filled the building to capacity every day, and as the first guests were walking up to the front door, the last construction crew was sweeping out the back. I believe the electrician slept in his car for a week to meet that deadline. Nobody wanted to cancel on a wedding party! And everyone on the project worked extremely hard to meet that deadline for our first guests.
What is your favorite room/area in the hotel?
The answer to this question has changed many times over the years. We have 15 rooms, and they are all completely unique. Room 201 has probably been my favorite for the most amount of time; it has beautifully bordered historic wood floors, tall ceilings, and great views of Tandem across the street. The bathroom was carved out of an old elevator shaft. Sometimes, Room 301 with its long, narrow layout and quiet location on the upper level is my favorite. The rooms with decks are amazing in the warmer weather, but I think my favorites tend to be the rooms in the original residence, in which we had to be most creative in order to design usable hotel rooms. That might have meant turning an old elevator shaft into a closet or an old closet into a bathroom, or even separating the shower room from the toilet room in one of the guest rooms.
Also – not in the hotel, but most certainly a favorite aspect of the property, and its restoration, is the Seth Thomas Clock. It was first erected in the early 1900s but had been largely neglected in the 21st century. It was in rough shape when we bought the property; the bevels were broken, multiple clock faces were missing, and it looked like it would fall over at any moment. It hadn’t told time in years. After three years of planning and saving – restoring clocks is not cheap! – the clock was taken down and delivered to Taggart Objects Conservation in Georgetown, Maine and worked on for just about a full year before being reinstalled in the fall of 2021. Not only is it a gorgeous neighborhood landmark, it even tells time (and most of the time, it’s even correct).
How are you involved now with the hotel?
I do the boring behind-the-scenes work, mostly accounting: processing and paying invoices, conducting budget-review meetings with staff, keeping tabs on cash flow, running Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet reports for internal and bank review. I work with our bank on any number of financing needs and to maintain our various accounts. I also collaborate with Tony and Allie and the hotel managers to help set the overall operating agenda. Early on at The Francis, I worked plenty of front desk shifts, too.
What would you tell people they have to do in Portland when staying at The Francis?
They have to eat, of course. At any of the award-winning or non-award-winning establishments in Portland. Just in our neighborhood, Wayside Tavern (at The Francis), Chaval, Tandem Bakery, Pai Men Miyake are all favorites. And to get a massage at The Francis Spa. We have just a single massage treatment room, but it still feels like an oasis of calm and rejuvenation!
One of the things that makes Portland so great is its diverse offerings. It is nationally recognized for its restaurants, but it’s also a coastal town with shops and galleries and museums. And a short 10-minute drive over the Casco Bay Bridge are some of the most beautiful beaches and lighthouses in the country. Yes, country!
How has The Francis changed since you opened it?
On our first day of opening (after the wedding party), it was October 3, 2017, and we had zero paying guests! That was an anxious moment. We were hardly doing any marketing for the property and didn’t exactly know what we were doing on a day-to-day basis. Five years later and The Francis the #1 traveler-ranked hotel in Portland, the operation runs smoothly (most of the time), and Allie, our talented Marketing Director, continues to find new ways to get guests in the doors.
We also have a great restaurant in the hotel now – Wayside Tavern. It is owned by Mike and Siobhán Sindoni – who will also run the Food and Beverage operations in the new boutique hotel we are building right across the street!
Five Questions with owner Tony DeLois:
What is one of your strongest memories of renovating & opening the hotel?
It has to be discovering how amazing our floors are. When first walking through the hotel, I remember the entire place was covered in wall-to-wall carpeting. It was a stale green carpet – very unappetizing. It especially stood out because all of the doors, windows and frames were so beautiful in their original detail. We had pulled up a little carpet here and there to see that there was some wood flooring to work with during the renovation, but we weren’t sure the extent nor the condition of it. I distinctly remember the day the carpets came up, as Nate and I got a call from Atlantic Hardwood (the company that restored the floors) that we had to come see what they uncovered. Sure enough, we were standing in the Parlor Room in amazement of the floor. The details and craftsmanship are crazy good and I still stare at them every time I walk in. We are truly lucky to have floors like this.
What is your favorite room/area in the hotel?
There are so many good spots in the hotel, it is hard to pick. I think my favorite place is our little sitting nook on the second floor which is between Room 201 and 202. There are lots of historic details and the matte black paint really lets those details pop. The large windowsill with its original leaded glass inserts helps bend the incoming light in a way that splashes water-like patterns on the wall. Also, it’s one of the few places on the 2nd floor where our featured artists hang works, and with each show, the space transforms just a little bit. It’s a great spot to have a coffee and enjoy a book.
How are you involved now with the hotel?
In addition to owning The Francis, my brother Nate and I also run a hospitality management company called Uncommon Hospitality. We operate The Francis along with The Colonial Inn and The Admiral’s Inn in Ogunquit and are developing a new project at 754 Congress Street. As the COO of Uncommon Hospitality, I meet with our general managers at each property to provide support any way they need it. Whether it’s helping with revenue management and rate strategy, leadership development, guest relations policies – or even changing the occasional light bulb. At The Francis in particular, everyone wears a lot of hats since we’re such a small property, so I even get to work the front desk occasionally, which I absolutely love as it gives me a chance to connect with our guests.
What would you tell people they have to do in Portland when staying at The Francis?
It is easy to fall back on a few old brewery and restaurant favorites to recommend for our guests since most everyone is coming up to enjoy one of those two things. But what I really think everyone should do is get out on the water. Portland is a peninsula, so water is everywhere. And, you don’t need to get on a boat to enjoy it. Though of all the ways to enjoy the water, I highly recommend packing a picnic from The Cheese Shop (don’t forget adult beverages) and getting on the Mail Boat at the Casco Bay Ferry terminal. It’s about a 2-hour ride and you really get a chance to see all of the islands and incredible views of Portland. If a boat is not your thing, talk a walk around Back Cove, or see a concert on the Fore River at Thompsons Point, or do some island viewing on a stroll along the Eastern Prom.
How has The Francis changed since you opened it?
There have been so many small changes here and there that we have made to help better the guest experience. Too many to count. But I think the biggest change that occurred is when Wayside Tavern finally opened. Figuring out how to use the restaurant space took a lot of time, energy and was a big learning experience for us. Now we have shared spaces that are open to hotel guests during the day, and restaurant patrons at night, where previously it was always closed off. The back room is such a great place to enjoy a coffee or do some quiet work during the day. It has our second working fireplace so during the winter it really is a cozy space. I spend a lot of time working back there and am really happy we figured out how to best utilize the space. It may have taken 5 years but it is totally worth it.