Hen of the Wood founder influences new restaurant at rebranded Burlington Hilton hotel

Brent Hallenbeck, Burlington Free Press
Updated ·2 min read

A previous version of this article was unclear on Eric Warnstedt's role in the restaurant.

The soon-to-be-rebranded Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain hotel is about to get a new restaurant inspired by one of the best-known chefs in Vermont.

The Hotel Champlain, as the Battery Street building will be known, will include a restaurant with input from Eric Warnstedt, the seven-time James Beard Award nominee for best chef in the Northeast. Warnstedt is best known for creating Hen of the Wood in Waterbury and later in Burlington. He also oversees Prohibition Pig in Waterbury and Doc Ponds in Stowe.

Warnstedt and the company he founded, Heirloom Hospitality, are licensing the brand for the seafood-focused restaurant Original Skiff Fish + Oyster, according to a news release sent Thursday by a publicist for the hotel chain. Construction of the restaurant begins this month, according to the news release, with an opening date planned for spring.

The hotel will remain open during the renovations and will debut as Hotel Champlain in the spring. The hotel will remain a Hilton property, part of the company’s Curio Collection that includes more than 100 hotels and resorts in nearly 30 countries.

Hen of the Wood owner Eric Warnstedt stands at the downstairs bar at the Waterbury restaurant on June 29, 2023.
Hen of the Wood owner Eric Warnstedt stands at the downstairs bar at the Waterbury restaurant on June 29, 2023.

According to the news release, Original Skiff will be “intentionally playful, campy, and nostalgic. It pays tribute to the heroes, hustlers, and helmsmen that lived amidst the lakes, harbors, inlets, and waterways.” The restaurant, the news release says, “evokes feelings of quintessential oyster bars and coastal taverns from Bar Harbor to the Florida Keys.”

The new restaurant will help the hotel “become a destination for fun and convivial culinary experiences,” Steven McClure, general manager of Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain, says in the news release. Original Skiff will sit a short walk from Hen of the Wood, which is around the corner on Cherry Street. The new restaurant will be run by Aimbridge Hospitality, a hospitality management company.

The Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain pictured on April 20, 2023. The lakefront hotel will soon rebrand to Hotel Champlain and upgrade its dining and fitness offerings.
The Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain pictured on April 20, 2023. The lakefront hotel will soon rebrand to Hotel Champlain and upgrade its dining and fitness offerings.

“We are passionate about art, music, and design and how they intersect with food and service to create a superior experience,” Warnstedt says in the news release. “As locals we are the conduit connecting residents and travelers to the lake and Hotel Champlain.”

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Hen of the Wood founder influences new Burlington Hilton restaurant