Photo courtesy of Ron Evans
Vermont Business Magazine Few landmarks are regarded for their quintessential New England riverscapes and nostalgia as the local flour factory affectionately known as the grist mill. They came in all shapes and sizes using an endless array of hydro-power methods at pennies per pound.
Today, the penny is so devalued, it has been discontinued. But the love for the Old Mill has never faded, generation to generation. Think Hardy Boys - The Secret of the Old Mill, the third book in the beloved series under the author ship of Franklin W. Dixon.
Rutland county and the Okemo Mountain region is today home to arguably the most legendary, one-of-a- kind and completely original grist mill complexes in the nation. The Kingsley Grist Mill National Historic Site in North Clarendon, Vermont, is the only Mill ever designed and built by the master covered bridge prodigy Nichols Montgomery Powers.
Construction took 30 men and two teams of oxen, two full years to complete, reaching a height of almost 100 feet.
Today, the KGM is one of the highest rated Airbnb’s in the world having been featured on both HGTV and more recently on the Netflix travel series “The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals”.
Ron and Linda Evans have been honing their Super Host skills for over a dozen years with the Airbnb community and the effort seems to have paid off. “Being in the top 1% worldwide only happens when you love what you do”, Ron professes. “So we’re going for another first.
When Brian Chesky, and his college buddy Joe Gebbia and later Nathan Blecharczyk came up with the final version of the Airbnb concept in 2008, they had two simple rules: [1] A host must provide an air mattress for a good nights sleep and [2] a PopTart for breakfast.
So with that thought in mind and the 20th anniversary of the PopTart legend just a round the corner, Ron & Linda have decided to bring back the original Pop Tart to the KGM continental breakfast. “I’m certain that we are not the first Airbnb to think of offering the Pop Tart, but with the help of Sweet Birch Bakery in Wallingford, Vermont, we may be the first Airbnb in the world to offer an exclusive gourmet Pop Tart filled with fruit and sweets from France and Belgium”, Ron explains. “This is not your average college toaster Pop Tart”, Linda adds. Like the Kingsley Grist Mill itself, it’s a one of a kind and we’ve affectionately named it our “Pop Top Cupola Tart” in honor of Luis D.Ortiz who slept in the Mill’s cupola during the three days of filming for Netflix.
Join them this season or next season (2027) for one of the world’s most amazing Airbnb stays right here in the heart of the Green Mountains. The Pop Tarts will rock your world! Find us at: www.airbnb.com/rooms/4427427.
See them on Netflix, “World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals”, season 2, episode 7 HGTV: “You Live in What?”, season 2, episode 1.
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Vermont Business Magazine