Rebecca's Final Chapter
Ghost of Rebecca will no longer haunt fine dining at The Lodge as Cloudcroft resort rebrands its showcase restaurant, introduces new menu
Goodbye, Rebecca.
A rebranding is coming to The Lodge’s fine dining restaurant. Rebecca’s name will be laid to rest at the eatery, but her spirit lives on at the historic hotel.
The new name, 1899 at The Lodge, is a nod to the year the resort was founded. The moniker will hopefully enchant diners into sampling a revived menu full of fresh and locally sourced ingredients.
Executive Chef Richard Lepree wants the haute cuisine to match and exceed the fine dining prices traditionally found at The Lodge.
“Number one, it needs a new face,” says Lepree. “Bruises from the history of it, they kind of linger. It’s time to wipe the slate clean and push forward.”
Lepree has overhauled the restaurant since joining The Lodge in February of last year. He holds the title of Director of Operations in addition to his culinary role. Before him, Rebecca’s ratings slumped and the dining room often felt eerily empty.
Fresh halibut, lobsters flown in from Maine, certified Angus beef and produce from local farms are just some of the fares Lepree introduced to the restaurant. He and his team of chefs plan to debut a new, even more upscale menu this Spring.
“To kind of move forward from that, some guests would maybe be upset about that,” says Lepree. “Because we’re not getting rid of Rebecca, I think we’ll be okay. We’re not getting an exorcism or anything like that,” he chuckles.
This is not the first name change at The Lodge. Rebecca’s was preceded by Tinnie’s Golden Spike, which was part of a New Mexican restaurant chain during the 1970s.
Jonathan Mancillas, Manager and Director of Events at The Lodge, estimates the restaurant has operated as Rebecca’s for “forty or fifty years,” he says.
“I think that Rebecca will definitely still be here. We’ll still have some ghost tours here as well,” says Mancillas. “Rebecca will always be a part of The Lodge. With 1899 and what Chef and I are trying to create, it’s going to be amazing, and I think she’ll be happy with us.”
The official name change is set to take place on Valentine’s Day this year.
“The dinner on Valentine’s is actually going to be the mark of our new style of service and food. And that’s when we do the new naming,” says Lepree. “Just to keep it as like a soft opening kind of thing, and not make too much of a big deal out of it - just do it.”
Lepree projects more improvements in the coming months as the spring and tourist seasons approach.
“This last year has really been about putting some foundations down for us to move forward from. And now we’re getting to the fun part where we start seeing the bit of fruit of our labor and moving forward with it, and the guests are going to see that, too, and it’s going to be pretty dramatic,” says Lepree.
Learn more about The Lodge’s offerings in The Cloudcroft Reader Lodging Guide, Part Two. We look forward to publishing the video series over the weekend.
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