Washington’s landmark hotel now has a new owner who has new ideas to market the hotel in new – and potentially more profitable – ways.

Under the new ownership of John Horton’s Washington-Wilkes Ventures LLC, The Fitzpatrick Hotel is undergoing a substantial renovation, he said. “We’re pretty much redoing everything in the hotel – we’ve had our hands full, and we’ve had substantial expenses taking over from the previous owners.”

Chief among the changes, Horton said, will be the new ways his team will be marketing the grand old hotel. “We realize we’re not selling rooms, we’re selling the whole experience, so we’re focusing on very specialized markets. Since we have a great catering kitchen upstairs next to the ballroom, and we have a famous local Southern chef, we’re going to have 2-, 3-, and 4-day cooking vacations that our Peggy Anderson has named ‘Joe Barnett’s Southern Heritage Culinary Experience.’”

The attraction can be marketed to several different groups, he said. “Our guests will get to experience not only the culinary part from a well-known chef, but Joe loves to tell stories so they’ll get a bit of the history of Southern cooking, with foods from all the South’s European and African influences. We’ll add into that the history of the lost gold, the last days of the Confederacy, and take people on tours and other things. No one’s been focusing on bringing people in for a complete experience like that, and I think it’ll be very successful.”

The other area to which Horton expects to market is weddings. “But we’re not aiming at the usual wedding market,” he said. “We’re going to market to the folks having their second marriage or a renewal of their vows. It’s an older group, and I believe we can give them and their families a great, memorable experience.”

The new marketing focus is driven by the new economic realities, Horton said. “Although people are driving shorter distances and spending less, there are still over seven million people within a 100- mile radius, and Washington has so much to offer them if we tell the right story. I always say, ‘facts tell, but stories sell,’ and we’ve got some wonderful stories to sell here.”

Horton, whose company also owns the Washington Jockey Club, says that the addition of The Fitzpatrick Hotel to the popular restaurant creates a synergy that finally makes real success possible. “At the Jockey Club, we now have a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, Sebastian Englert, but we’re not increasing prices, just raising the level of expectations. With all these things working together, along with sharp and aggressive marketing, we’re developing attractions that we believe will benefit the whole Square and every business downtown.”

Under his ownership, the hotel’s coffee shop, restaurant, and pub are all being redone, Horton said. “The former Sophie’s is being redone, and will be called simply ‘the Café at the Fitzpatrick,’ offering coffees, espresso, lattes, desserts, salads, and wine. The décor will be more comfortable, a place to relax, with books available to swap, borrow or buy.”

The simplicity in names also applies to the hotel’s restaurant and bar. “It’s now simply ‘The Dining Room at The Fitzpatrick,’” Horton said, “and the bar will be ‘The Pub at the Fitzpatrick.’”

In the retail spaces fronting The Square, he said, “we’re looking at an ‘everything Washington’ store, with all the merchandise branded Washington – coffee cups, hats, t-shirts, and other Washington- specific merchandise for tourists.”

If the new efforts are successful, Horton said, the hotel can be expanded from the present 16 rooms. “If we do a great job on publicity and marketing, I believe we can add 24 rooms to the back of the hotel. And if we’re really successful, we have other ideas that can bring many more people here and give them an experience that every business here will profit from. We’re going to try our best, and time will tell. We’re really excited about the possibilities,”