Thursday, September 09, 2004 - By Glenn Coin , Staff writer
Ben Eberhardt runs recently renovated Colgate Inn

It was late last Friday afternoon, with a big weekend ahead for the Colgate Inn, and manager Ben Eberhardt was only three days into the job.

The 500 ears of corn for the next day's sidewalk feast had been shucked, but now there were guests to be checked in and arrangements to be made for two unrelated events the next day: a wedding in the dining room and an Elvis impersonator performing on the sidewalk.

In the middle of it all, Eberhardt took a break to conduct a tour of the newly renovated inn and to talk of his dreams for the place. As he sat on a sofa in the cherry-walled parlor, a co-worker issued a playful warning.

"You'd better not sit down," a voice called to Eberhardt from across the room. "You might fall asleep."
Sleep wasn't in the picture yet, though. Eberhardt, who grew up in the hospitality business at his father's Sherwood Inn in Skaneateles, had too much work to do.

Eberhardt's father, William, was tapped by Colgate University earlier this year to operate the historic inn located in the middle of Hamilton's business district. Ben Eberhardt, who left the Army last year after 12 years of service and an ascent to the rank of major, has brought his family and expertise to Hamilton. Bringing the Eberhardts to town is part of Colgate's continuing effort to make Hamilton's business district more inviting.

For the past dozen years or so, the inn was run by multinational management companies. Last year, the inn was put under the wing of the Hamilton Initiative, the Colgate subsidiary charged with renovating downtown.
"Colgate Inn is incredibly important to us," said university President Rebecca Chopp. "It's the front door for our campus. It's where prospective students and parents stay."

Eberhardt, 34, got his start in the hospitality business at age 13, washing dishes at the Sherwood Inn. Through high school and college, he did it all.

"I've done dishwashing to barkeeping to waiting - every position, and, in some cases, management," he said.
He's already at home at the Colgate Inn.

"I absolutely love the satisfaction that comes with customer service," he said. "I greet each guest as they come in the door and walk them out when they leave."

Eberhardt likes to be out and about in the inn. The administrative offices are in the building next door, but he doesn't plan to spend much time there. Instead, he'll have a countertop and a few drawers installed in the inn.
"I don't need anything more than that," he said. "I can't stand the office."

The inn, built in 1925, was slated for demolition in the 1970s until it was bought by a local group and transferred to Colgate. Earlier this year, the university completed a $500,000 renovation that included the front parlor, a new lobby and a remodeled basement conference room.

Eberhardt launches his tour in the newly remodeled parlor. He heads downstairs to show off the basement room, called the Salmagundi room, and talks of plans to convert it into a rathskeller that would appeal to Colgate students.

Asked what Salmagundi means, Eberhardt pauses. He tries to recall the explanation given by one of his employees, a Colgate graduate.

"But I'm so tired," he said, smiling, "I can't remember what she told me." (Salmagundi has been the name of the college's yearbook since 1934, according to the university's Web site. It means "miscellany" or "medley," and was originally a book of lists of faculty, fraternities and other groups.)

On the way outside, Eberhardt greets an employee who is heading out the door.

"You taking off, Bob?" Eberhardt asks. "Done shucking all that corn?"

Eberhardt comes to life as he steps outside the back of the inn and gestures toward the expanse of lawn between the inn and the parking lot. Shade from the building, blocking the setting sun, is already deepening the grass.

"I go nuts when I come back here because it has so much potential," Eberhardt said, envisioning a patio filled with tables filled with diners enjoying their meal and the fresh air. "People love to eat outside."

That's all in the future, though. Right now, Eberhardt is busy just running the 46-room inn. He's hoping it will become a town-gown connection.

"I think we're going to have a place where both the local community - university and non-university - can come enjoy great food in a very comfortable atmosphere," he said. Eberhardt is already part of that community. He and his wife, Kristen, and their two children, ages 7 and 2, have moved to Hamilton. His family is what compelled him to leave the Army and return to the family business, Eberhardt said.

"I felt I had done my duty," he said. "I decided after my son was born that I had only seen my family for six months of the last two years. I always was interested in the (hospitality) business, and I decided it was time to go back into it."

© 2004 The Post-Standard. Used with permission.

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