Creating The Madrona, One of the "Best New Hotels In The World" - Cory Schisler

Josiah:

The Madrona, a luxury boutique hotel in California Sonoma County, has been named one of Travel + Leisure's best new hotels of the year, and Condé Nast Traveler called it one of the most exciting new hotel openings they've seen. Today, we get to hear the story of how it all got started with Cory Schisler, one of the partners behind the project. Cory has 20 years of experience in the hospitality world, spending most of his career building hotel and restaurant brands through operations, branding, marketing, and PR, and has been part of the launch of more than 10 hotels and 14 restaurants.

In this episode, you'll not only hear the story behind The Madrona but learn how Cory and his partners think about everything from hiring and team building to guest experience design. Cory invited me to experience the property for myself last weekend, and I rarely see a concept designed and executed as well as they have at The Madrona. I think you'll enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Josiah: How would you describe how this project initially came to be?

Cory: Well, the story's great. I'm smiling very large right now because it was something that we were not looking for, and it just happened because of the pandemic. So Jay Jeffers, one of the three partners at The Madrona and the interior designer of it has been a friend of mine, a very close friend, for over 10 years now. We ended up sheltering in place together when the pandemic hit because I was here in San Francisco on a work trip opening up a restaurant right here on the Embarcadero. And the pandemic hit, and he said, "Why don't you come and stay with me up in Napa?"

And I said, "Great, that's fantastic. I would love to do that and not be stuck in the city alone in my rental apartment." So I went up there. Obviously, the pandemic lasted longer than two weeks. Surprise, surprise. I had lost my job at the time with a restaurant group I was working with. So I found myself living with my best friend in his house with no work and not sure what to do. And we were starting to get a little stir-crazy and one of our friends said, "Hey, why don't you come over the hill to Sonoma? I've got this hotel that I'm about to put on the market, and we can just walk around and drink rosé and just enjoy this random hotel listing."

He sells high-end residential. But this was an old house, and so he was working on this listing. And we just walked around for hours, poking our heads into all the rooms. The hotel was obviously closed. The restaurant was closed, and so we just had the eight acres to ourselves. And we were driving back home, and I said to Jay, "Wow, I really want to do something with that." And he said, "Same." And he's always wanted to design a hotel. I've always wanted to be at day zero. And we brought his brother in, who is really well-versed in the hotel finance world, and the two of them really kind of spearheaded finding investors.

We pulled in a bunch of friends and family, and nine months later, we were holding the keys, which is just wild because it was raising money during a pandemic. The hotel eventually reopened during this process and then had to close again because of wildfires and then the election cycle on top of it. But we did it, and people were really just passionate about the story of what we were trying to build.

Josiah: I'm very curious about how projects and people behind the projects raise capital for them and how that affects what you're able to do. It felt almost like a community effort, not necessarily the geographic community, but the people involved. It wasn't just a bunch of institutional capital.

Cory: Yeah, exactly. It was... There was definitely a very strong business model that we were selling as well. There was a path to profitability. There was a 10-year plan. We're looking at financials and projections in a very distinct, clear way. So it definitely wasn't like, "Hey, do you want to give us $50K for our little hotel?"

We spent a lot of time putting together our deck for the investment, and it just so happened that a lot of our friends and family were passionate about the three of us as a team because our skill sets were so complimentary that felt as though this was going to be something amazing. And especially with Jay and his design vision, he's so talented in the way that he puts together... You saw at The Madrona.

Josiah:

Yeah.

Cory:

Just the way he puts together some of the antiques that we had with new fabrics and modern art. It's just fascinating. And so I think that was a huge part of us getting our investment early on because people knew that this thing was going to be beautiful.

Josiah:

We can link in the show notes too some of the history of the property, but I'm curious on your take because you've been involved in so many projects. You mentioned walking around and on the drive back saying, "This is something that has a lot of potential." What was it about the location or the building itself that made you believe it had so much potential?

Cory:

So the hotel is in Healdsburg, California. So it's in Sonoma. It's a very, very beautiful area. It is stunning middle of wine country, amazing restaurants a lot of Michelin restaurants right now. And I had never really spent time in Healdsburg, so I can't really say that that had anything to do with it. It was truly just the estate itself. I felt like the previous owners had owned it for 20 years, and it was a hotel as well.

It had a little more of a bed and breakfast vibe with a Michelin Star restaurant that was amazing. And there was something quiet about it. It just felt too quiet. And Jay and I, we like a glass of wine. We like great music. We like a vibe. And I saw these eight acres, and I could just envision the music that I was going to curate for the hotel, girls kicking their heels off, running through the grass with a negroni in their hand, just this sense of revelry, almost like a really great house party.

And that was the potential that Jay and I both saw in it that we just wanted people sprawling out across the eight acres and just enjoying it, and living life at our spot and having just the greatest of times to celebrate life. And I think that that's where this property specifically is... it's designed for that. It's designed for people to just slow down and celebrate life, and it's a really beautiful spot to do that.

Josiah:

So you mentioned wanting a vibe. I feel like everybody wants a vibe. They want to have an amazing experience. Was there something that was the inspiration behind this? It sounds like, especially when you went to raise capital, you had a very clear vision of what it could be. Is that something that instantly hit you, or was there a process that you formulated that?

Cory:

I think it was pretty instant. The reason this worked out so well in a lot of ways is because Jay and I have very similar taste. And so when we were thinking about what the restaurant's like in the menu and what we want the concept to be and the music and the vibe, we were both in sync. We have traveled together extensively. We've stayed at the same hotels. We like the same restaurants, and so we put together this list of inspiration spots both on the restaurant side and the hotel side.

And the NoMad in New York was a big part of our inspiration. J.K. Place, another one, and Chiltern Firehouse and these hotels that just have this classic energy to them, but still modern vibe where you feel like you have this old school building with a ton of history and character just being reinvented in a modern way and it just felt very Madrona already. So that's really where we kind of thought about where this property could go.

Josiah:

You mentioned kind of this concept of team, and I actually want to get into even the teams that you have on the property. But just you and Jay being a team and business partners and knowing each other for some time, it feels like maybe there's something there in terms of how quickly you're able to execute if you both understood, "We have this shared vision for what it can be." And it seems like sometimes projects fall apart where people don't know each other that well or for that long, and it's just like make it cool, and then there's all these assumptions maybe that partners are bringing to a project.

Cory:

I think that it was a beautiful time really designing this concept. I think there are a few things that were very helpful besides us having similar taste. I think that we were also doing this while living together, which I thought was really fascinating.

Josiah:

Yeah.

Cory:

I would wake up in the morning. He would be at the dining table sketching out an armoire for the guest rooms. I think having his brother as part of this team from inception was very helpful because he's a very practical guy who understands finance and that world, and that is something that Jay and I just were not a part of. I think Jay really relies on his brother for advice in the finance world.

"Is this going to work or not?" And if Kyle hadn't said yes, we wouldn't be doing this. So there's a ton of credit on that side of things. But I think for us, we sat down, we had a conversation early on, and said, "We're friends now. Our friendship comes first. So no matter what, we need to agree that our friendship comes first before business."

I had been out of a recent work situation with someone who is a friend, a close friend as well, and there's a lot of energy and extra layers when you're working with a close friend this way, and for Jay to work with a family member. And so we're already kind of setting ourselves up for more risk in a lot of ways when it comes to trying to cooperate and work together. But I think us starting with that dedication to our relationship as friends first and family made a huge difference. It made it fun.

Josiah:

Well, you mentioned before how the hotel opening process is something you enjoy. There's a certain chaos to it. There are so many moving parts. After you went through this process of finding the property, you raised the capital. What happens next in that kind of pre-opening process? Walk us through that journey for you.

Cory:

By the time we got the keys, we were pretty sure that we were going to raise the capital that we needed. So we had already thought about management companies. We had already selected a contractor. The architect had already done the plans we had already submitted, so we got the keys, and it was only a couple of months later that we started actually working on the construction side of it. So, the plans were in place. The hotel already had amazing bones, so that made this a lot easier, right? We were not looking at demolishing anything. We weren't really moving a ton of walls. Really, it was more of a historic renovation and restoration.

And so that was an element of it, going through historical to make sure that we were doing things right by the property and its history. But it was full-blown construction very quickly and really kind of designing in the moment. A lot of work on Jay's side of us learning a lot about commercial construction. Jay's background is all high-end residential design, going through kitchen permitting and all of that. It was a pretty wild process because we were trying to open up six months after we started construction, which now sounds hilarious. But we thought it was going to be possible because it was going to be a small renovation. Just change out some toilets and add some new furniture and paint.

And then we realized that this girl had a lot more surprises. It wasn't even surprise... Every time we would open a wall, it wasn't like, "Oh my gosh, something. We need to replace all the plumbing." It was none of that. It was more just the development of the concept in our own minds as well. We weren't going to touch the pool. And then we started thinking about it, and looking at it, we thought, "This needs fire pits here. We want to change out this hardscape. We want to expand this area." So it was things like that. And that was really fascinating for us to learn along the way and realize that we were kind of foolish and not to keep those in scope from the beginning.

Josiah:

I imagine it is going to be so difficult to think about all the different avenues that you can go with a project like this from the very start. But I think, even on the design piece, there is the sort of like are the bones of it at a place that we can use. But then there's also the design that was added in, and that really stood out to me, I think, how eclectic it was.

But also, it didn't feel tacky, or it was very bold from a design perspective, but it didn't feel over the top. It still fits within the overall vibe. And I imagine that's a really hard line to walk of how far do we push this? And I think my understanding is also just from an art perspective. You're working with a gallery, right, in some of the common spaces too there's a certain amount of that art that's being rotated out.

Cory:

Yeah. So when you buy a hotel that was a hotel and had been closed for a long time, you're getting all of it, including the furniture, chef coats, flour, a wine cellar that's full, really fascinating things, weed whackers. And so he started off with hundreds of pieces of furniture that were already there and then whittled that down to 250. And many of those were original antiques to the estate that had just been passed from owner to owner since the 1800s, which I thought was wild how that happens. So, he already started off with a ton of pieces to draw inspiration from.

And I think one thing that he does very well like I was saying before, is this layering of other things with it to make it feel bold without being tacky. And he just went for a deep dive into the aesthetic movement, which was around when the estate was built in 1881, which was all about beauty for beauty's sake. So, whereas before art needed to be political or religious, it needed to have meaning. This could just be fun and fanciful and full of whimsy and a little avant-garde. And his friend Lisa Chadwick, who owns Dolby Chadwick Gallery here in San Francisco, they've been friends for 20 years.

She jumped on the opportunity to fill this hotel with her art and artists that Jay's been a fan of for years and years. That really just went with the whole concept. The hotel would not be what it is without that art program. It truly makes it. And there's vintage pieces that are splattered around throughout, but there's commission pieces for that hotel that are meant to be this piece goes right there as you walk in the front door for a reason. And I think the two of them had a lot of fun really working on that piece.

Josiah:

I feel like that set the tone when you first walked through the front doors and in terms of what this place is all about. I wonder if we could talk a little bit about the team, and the quality of your team throughout the property really stood out to me. When I first arrived at the property, I met Evan, and then I met Charles, who's your maître d', which is not a role I typically see at a hotel. How did his role come to be?

Cory:

So he's known Jay for years. He used to be the maître d' at a restaurant in Napa called PRESS for years and years, and he just was amazing at that job. And I had met Charles maybe a couple of times before. But Charles reached out once he heard that Jay was doing this hotel and said, "I want to work on this. I know it's going to be amazing." And we were trying to find a role for him, and he was concierge for a little bit, and then every time we would be on the property and just watching him move through the space, his skillset is really just creating connections with people and creating magic.

And he truly understands the concept the same way that I do. He understands what we're trying to do and the vision of it, and so we just put him in this maître d' role. And so he just really walks around and talks to guests and gives tours. And his tours are amazing because he uses all the same talking points that I do and tells just really funny, quirky stories and he's just the right amount of wrong where he's just pushing that boundary a little bit, and he makes the experience in so many ways.

Josiah:

Well, and there's something about being greeted by an individual, and he actually took our bags to our room. And so it is interesting where it's like it was almost this connection. It's like I was excited to see the Madrona, but it's also this connection with Charles, right - and that very personal experience that felt extraordinary. And it does feel that storytelling is a key piece of this as well. You are a storyteller across multiple projects you have over your career. Do you look at storytelling as integral to how people experience a place?

Cory:

I think that people use storytelling in a lot of different forms. I think, for me, it's not necessarily about storytelling. It's about just giving someone a place where they could have a lot of different types of experiences, so it becomes less prescriptive. I like that everyone has different ways of checking someone into the Madrona. I like that everyone has their quirks to it. And so yes, there's-

Josiah:

Why do you like that? Because a lot of... People are all about, it's got to be the standard, it's got to be the process.

Cory:

I think it just makes the property more interesting. At the end of the day, the Madrona is an old house and multiple buildings, of course. It was a really great grand estate, but it's a house it. So you're walking into someone's home that just happens to be a hotel and very cool restaurant with a vibe to it, and going back to our thoughts on the concept of it feeling like a house party at someone's very chic house that's traveled the world.

That's really what it is that you're going to have all of this quirkiness. That girl at the front desk is going to check you in just in a very different way from Charles. And I think because we're not a brand with multiple locations or a turn-and-burn urban property, we don't need to have that consistency. Yes, there's consistent brand standards, of course, and service standards of welcome drinks and things to point out on a property tour. But it's the personality of all the different individuals that are there where people find their favorite bartender and their favorite server and their favorite person at the front desk.

I think that's one of the best things about hotels. And it happens at every hotel, and it doesn't mean that the person's not your favorite isn't good at what they're doing. It's just like being out in the world. You're going to vibe with certain people.

Josiah:

How do you think about attracting that cast of talent that is very eclectic because it almost feels like you're looking at the person versus just there's a role here? You're like, "Charles is going to be really good at our property, and we want him involved, and we'll figure out a way there." Is there a certain amount of you're looking for individuals versus just, "We have this job title."

Cory:

Yeah. I mean, I want to talk about the romanticism of putting together the puzzle pieces, but we all know it's impossible to hire in this industry right now.

Cory:

And I feel like we just got very lucky in a lot of ways. One, people wanted to work at the estate because it's pretty. The Madrona is a pretty place to work. Our housekeeping team is just wandering around all day through orange groves and wheeling dirty laundry past hundreds of year-old oak trees. They're having a great time with just being there. And we brought a lot of people back from the original hotel concept who just were in love with the place. So that helped us out a lot on the hiring side. But I think it's thinking about the key roles.

Our restaurant is big, so you've got a ton of servers, so it's less about we need one server that's like this one server that's like that. At the bar, it's a small bar, so you're going to have... you're kind of building the team around, "Here's one salty bartender who's just really good at making drinks, and the saltiness is kind of part of it," whereas then his counterpart that's working at the same time is so sweet and just shines through and is so bubbly. And then the two of them balance each other out, and it almost becomes like a show where you're watching their banter.

And I think that's where Jay... I'm so glad Jay and I saw eye to eye on the concept this way. It's always luxury service, but there's just the actual human element of it that makes it funny. It's funny when Charles says something wrong because that's what life is, and I think it makes people... it breaks the bubble of pretension around it. People feel so welcome to the Madrona, even though it's a very nice hotel and it's got a very high ADR, but you don't feel like you're walking into this very precious place. And I think the human element has a lot to do with that.

Josiah:

How do you do that for your staff? Because I feel like that is... I've seen environments where it almost feels from ownership, or from the partners in the business, there is very high expectations, which I'm sure that you have, but the staff almost feels frightened. And how do you make them feel comfortable or empowered so that some of these quirks can shine through?

Cory:

We spend a lot of time there, so it feels less like they're all people that I know. I mean, a lot of the restaurant staff has been there since the beginning. So we hired them pre-opening, and they heard from Jay and Kyle and myself about what we were trying to do early on. So they were already bought into the concept. And I think them knowing us from day one is helpful. So that, I think, set the tone. And we were just so hands-on with the project throughout construction, and I was basically living at the hotel for a couple of months when we were opening, so I got to know everyone, and that was... that's a huge part of it as well.

But they've also seen us come back. We've been open for almost a year and a half. They've seen me live my own life there. They've seen me go through a breakup. They've seen me start dating someone new at the hotel. They've seen me celebrate. They've seen me cry. And so I think that it's just showing that we're all human. I think that's the through line of it, and it makes it less about this daunting, "Oh, Cory is here, and he's going to fuss with the music volume levels and dim the lights," which is what I do every time, and so does Jay. But I don't know. It's family. It feels very comfortable to be there.

Josiah:

It certainly does. And from a guest perspective as well, you mentioned you got lucky with hiring people. Anytime someone mentions they got lucky, I hear that, but I also feel like it might be possible to stack the deck in your favor so that you get luckier.

And you said one of the things that is attractive for people working there is just how beautiful the property is and what it feels like as somebody who's working there. It's impossible not to go there and hear the music. What is the role of music and sound in the overall experience that you are looking to provide?

Cory:

I am obsessed with movies. I see three, four movies a week. I just love film. I think it's such an amazing way to tell a story. And if I think about scenes and films that make me feel something, it's so much about the soundtrack that's playing in the background as much as it is about acting and the setting and all of that. There's something about music, and this is a common human experience. Songs remind us of certain things. We have visceral reactions when we hear a song. Like I heard Jagged Little Pill the other day, and it completely brought me back to childhood. And I was fascinated.

And there's something about music in a space that can make or break an experience, and you're also telling someone how you want them to kind of interact with a certain space. So, there's multiple playlists playing around property at the same time. That's nothing new. Many hotels do this. But if you're in the mansion and at the restaurant, you're listening to some music that changes throughout the day, that gets livelier at night, that gets sexier, that has a higher tempo, and it's telling people, "You can have some fun in the space." If we kept that music low, people would be talking more quietly. They would be feeling less at home.

It's almost like you're giving them permission to ramp it up a little bit and have another cocktail, have another martini. Whereas by the pool, the music is very chill. And whereas a lot of hotels will go for the pool vibe and rowdiness and all of that, I wanted someone to be out there and really take in nature. You're looking at these amazing old trees, and I wanted someone to slow down a little bit and realize the pool is actually for relaxation. It's not meant to be a Vegas pool. And so I think you're almost... you're inviting someone to have a certain type of experience.

Josiah:

I don't take a lot of naps, but I will say I dosed at the pool because it was very relaxing.

Cory:

Good. Good, good, good.

Josiah:

What's your... Take us behind the scenes on your creative inspiration because I have to say, I downloaded the playlist and I'm still listening to them as I was prepping for this. Where do you... What's your inspiration for these playlists?

Cory:

So Jay took so much inspiration from the aesthetic movement, and there's a lot of international influence in that. We also would tell ourselves a story that the family that built the estate had traveled the world, and they had, in a number of ways, and filled this funky mansion with all these things that they amassed on their travels around the world. And that kind of gave it an eclectic nature. And I think for me, I wanted to take that same international influence and infuse that into the music.

So you're finding 14, 15 different languages on there and all kind of feeling like they feel right together. And then our chef that we opened with, he had traveled internationally extensively. And so the menu had that same international influence. So there's this cohesive nature to saying that this place is worldly in a sense where we're taking inspiration from all the things that we've seen across the globe that we find cool. And so the music is a big reflection of that.

Josiah:

I love it. I need to link to the playlist in the show notes because I think people need to check this out. You mentioned your chef. How did you think about your food and beverage offering at the property? Because I found it to be very surprising and delightful.

And it was interesting because the Madrona property is about a mile away from Healdsburg town, so it's not that far, but it is also set aside, and that is the beauty of it. But I found you almost didn't need to leave because you had all these offerings there. How did you think about this? As you mentioned, the property that you took over had a restaurant before. How did you think about re-imagining this?

Cory:

Chef Jesse Mallgren, who was at the property before, had a Michelin Star for 13 consecutive years. So we would be fools not to say, "Please cook for us. Let us know what your vibe is," and offer him a place at the new Madrona. And he cooked for us. And his concept before was more traditional wine country tasting menu. And we really wanted to make it more approachable and have a menu that's a little bit more eclectic. And we kind of explained the concept to him and said, "Here's some of our inspiration restaurants like the NoMad, like Chiltern Firehouse." And he said, "Great, I want to give it a try."

And then we started going through this menu tasting process, and he was just knocking so many things out of the park with this international influence on these classic dishes like chicken paillard that has these Thai flavors to it. Just really interesting things. And I think the way that he assembled that's amazing. And what's beautiful is my current chef, Patrick Tafoya, he is on that same page of utilize... We've got amazing gardens at the property. Utilize the Madrona's gardens in really unique ways, still have that international influence reimagine things, but it doesn't feel chaotic.

It just feels like you could dress it up, dress it down, have a burger and a beer at the bar, or have a full $500 a person tasting menu in the drawing room. And they both get that. And I think that's why we've been able to keep guests at the estate longer than they were expecting to. We have guests that cancel wine tastings just to chill on property, which I love. I feel bad to say that, but I think it's great. I want someone to just feel so at home there.

Josiah:

Yeah. I wonder if we could speak a little bit about the garden because this is one of the things that initially stood out to me. Why do you have a garden on property?

Cory:

It was there before.

Josiah:

Okay. Well why did you keep it?

Cory:

I mean, it tells the story of the restaurant so easily, and the... that was actually a very funny part of construction because it was maybe a couple of months in, and we were walking up there, and I was looking down at the garden, which hadn't been tend to in now a year because of COVID and the restaurant being closed.

So the thing was just wild, and I don't know how to garden. I don't know anything about farming. And we're just staring at this thing kind of shaking our heads, and I was like, "Okay, I guess we'll find a farmer and figure this out because Chef uses this, and his former farmer had retired.

Cory:

And so I found this gentleman, Aris Curtis. He is passionate voice for regenerative farming, and he lives down the road. And he's really taken our grounds team under his wing and taught them so much about regenerative farming. And he really spearheaded, "This is what this is going to look like." Working alongside chef week after week to say, "Here's what's happening in the garden for months to come so you can menu plan around it." And the guests freak out for it.

Josiah:

Yeah.

Cory:

Everyone's wandering up there with a glass of wine or a cocktail in their hand. I go up there, I meditate. We have guests that go up there and propose. I don't know. It's just such a little magical cherry on top. Like a old house would have gardens, and it's a full half acre. It's quite extensive.

Josiah:

It is. And there's quite a diversity of things there. You mentioned some people cancel their wine tastings just to be on property. I certainly felt that when I was there, I want to spend time here. Was this part of the design as you created these environments for people where you could spend time in the different locations, and that was going to be... It almost gives it more longevity [inaudible]-

Cory:

I think Jay was definitely thinking about how people would... Obviously, he's an amazing designer. He's thinking about how people interact with the space. And I think because he focuses on high-end residential, he thought about it like a house. So think about a lazy Saturday that you have at home. You know that you've had a dinner party with friends at your place that night.

How are you going to spend that day? You might wake up, do a little workout. The gym at the Madrona is amazing. You might grab coffee and go for a little walk up to the garden. And so if you're really treating this like your own house, like how would you spend a lazy Saturday afternoon, you might take a nap on the lawn and read a book with some wine. You're going to take a nap in your room. You're going to hang with your honey.

Cory:

You're going to have a really nice day. And I think because you're right, the property is very centrally located within itself that there's the restaurant and parlors and the bar, but they all have a different vibe to them. And so if someone wants to have a leisurely afternoon read on a couch in the front parlor, they can. And a lot of guests do kick their shoes off and treat it like their own house, and it makes me so happy.

Josiah:

Yeah. That's great. [inaudible] you mentioned the gym, and that's actually one thing that stood out because a property that size usually doesn't have a fantastic gym. It's not a massive, massive gym, but it is... I feel like it had all the right equipment.

Josiah:

What was the process for deciding do we have one? What do we include in it?

Cory:

I think that we were always going to have a gym. I think any modern traveler today is looking for a gym. Jay, Kyle, and I work out daily. So it was also for us, and I think choosing the equipment inside. My friend Glenn Shope, who's here in San Francisco, he owns this amazing private training gym called MX3 Fitness, and he was my first call, and I was like, "What do I put in here to make this a perfect gym?" And it was great, and he really helped me understand gym equipment in a different way. And I thought about stuff that was going to be good for my own workout. And then Tonal sponsored us with a Tonal for free, which was nice.

Josiah:

Wait, tell me the story behind that because I feel like this is a... it feels like a big opportunity for hospitality providers to partner with others because you think about the exposure you're going to give Tonal on this example, it feels like a win-win, doesn't it, to do a deal like that?

Cory:

Yeah, I think it's almost like an extension of their showroom. They've had a pretty extensive hospitality program, I think, now. At the time, I knew someone who was working at Tonal and gave him a call, and it was kind of an easy thing.

But their hospitality program was, I mean, they've sent over paperwork, and it was just very... it was a robust agreement, and it just made sense. So I think it's an extension of their showroom that the guests that are curious, that want to try it out in a place that feels kind of private, where they're not going to be as embarrassed if they mess it up a little bit, that's what I see in the gym.

Josiah:

Well, I think this is the beautiful thing about hospitality is you're creating these spaces where people can try something else. You're maybe outside of your day-to-day of how you normally live life. So it gives you this opportunity to experience something new.

So, I'm all about partnerships, and I feel like it's a really interesting way to augment the guest experience. What are you most proud of? I feel like there's so many elements to this project. As you kind of personally think back over the past couple of years, what are you most proud of at the Madrona?

Cory:

I'm proud that the team that we have has been able to carry out this vision that we had from day one in a way that resonates with guests. It is amazing to hear people talk about the experience and the service the way that I wanted to hear them talk about it.

So when people say, "It feels like my house. The service is so welcoming, but this is such a nice place. It's so approachable but still a little fancy at times." It makes me so happy that people experience it that way. To hear people say that they canceled wine tastings because they just want to stay there. To see someone kick their shoes off. I'm proud that people are experiencing the Madrona the way that we wanted them to.