PRINCETON Relaunching her family’s restaurant in town is a dream come true for Gabi Bennett.
Gabi co-owns The Barn, formerly the Mountain Barn for decades, with her mother Carla Zottoli and manages it along with her husband, Ryan. Her family, as well as her husband’s, have been in Princeton for generations.
“The three of us grew up here. Each of us moved away for a bit in our 20s, and all of us ended up coming back to our beautiful hometown to settle in,” she said.
After attending Wellesley College to study math and living in California for several years to work in the entertainment industry, Gabi was recruited by IBM. Eventually, she moved back to Princeton “after realizing the corporate world, as well as California and cities in general, were not for me.”
“Funnily enough, after my mom graduated from college in her 20s, she moved out to California to work in Hollywood as well, and (she) ended up moving back home to run what was the Mountain Barn,” Gabi said. “My husband had gone to school in Ohio, then moved out West to Jackson Hole, and the same week I’d moved back, (he) also moved back to Princeton.”
The couple grew up a mile from each other and rode the same school bus, but somehow they only first met when both moved back home at the age of 26 – in the lobby of the Mountain Barn, the popular spot her grandparents Bill and Peg Zottoli built along with her mother 40 years ago.
“They ran it for several years until my mom took over operations, then about 20 years ago leased the Mountain Barn to my cousins, Steve and Mindy Zottoli, who ran it until its closing in August 2021,” Gabi said of the restaurant’s family history.
She “always had a gut feeling,” she said, that one day she would run the family restaurant, but “thought it would be much further down the road.”
“It’s something I’d asked the universe for for years, and when the opportunity presented itself, who was I to tell the universe its timing was off?” Gabi said. “Ryan and I were on our honeymoon when my mom called to tell us the Mountain Barn was shutting down and that it was our turn if we wanted it. And of course, we did.”
They had two conditions, though. One, if they were going to reopen it, they were “going to do it in a way that felt true to us and that we were passionate about.” And two, that her mother had to help.
“She had run the Mountain Barn for 15 years and had worked in so many areas of the industry, she just had so much wisdom that we would need to make this work,” Gabi said of her mom. “The heart of the rebranding was to let people know that this is a different restaurant but that we love and respect the life it’s lived and the memories it holds.”
They are aiming to open The Barn doors later this month or early February, depending on how everything goes.
“As anyone who’s taken on a renovation project knows, the unexpected always has a way of popping up, but we are clicking along and getting very close,” Gabi said. “The reopening process has been … a process.
“Renovation is never an easy task, and especially an old building that has seen so much life as this one takes quite a bit of TLC. It hasn’t been easy, but every minute has been such a labor of love. And most of the time, it’s been a blast. It’s been a serious, all-hands-on deck family effort.”
She said they have been describing the menu to people as “seasonally and locally inspired elevated comfort food.”
“We lucked out finding the most incredibly talented, creative chef, Eric Marvin,” Gabi said. “We told him our concept, and he ran with the menu in ways we couldn’t have even imagined.”
The menu will change every four months to highlight the unique flavors and ingredients of New England that are featured during each particular season “and delivering them in unexpected ways.”
“The idea is that our customers will see things they recognize, but perhaps prepared in a way, or featuring an ingredient that they may not be familiar with,” Gabi said. “Of course, there will be some classics on the menu, done The Barn way, that you’ll always be able to go back to, but there’s definitely the opportunity to try something different that might become your new go-to. Or even better, to try something new each time.”
The reaction and response from the community to the relaunch has been nothing short of positive, she noted, and said that if she could say something to those who have shown their support, it would be a simple but heartfelt thank you.
“One of the most incredible parts of the experience has been people in the community just showing up to help when they see our cars out front,” she said. “They know who they are, and we are endlessly grateful. It’s been incredibly humbling and even more motivation to do everyone proud.”
When asked how they are all feeing about opening and welcoming both new patrons and their regulars back, Gabi summed it up in two words: “So excited.”
“The single most important thing to us, and the driving factor behind every decision we make, is that The Barn should feel like you’re coming to our home. The staff we’ve hired are all truly exceptional people who light up a room and make you feel so welcome. Literally every single one of them. The changes we’ve made to the interior are all meant to make the space warm, cozy and inviting. We’re all just so excited to bring our community into the space, to show them what we’ve been working on for the past year, and to give them a really special experience from the second they walk through that door.
“The Barn will be a change from what the Mountain Barn was, and we know that change isn’t always easy, but it will be worth it,” she continued. “We’re pouring everything we’ve got into this place and can’t wait to give the community a place to once again come together, make memories, and eat really, really good food.”
