Home is the heart of hospitality for Home at Braddock Inn owners
Originally published October 06, 2010

Teresa Bell-Stockman
News-Post Staff

An Evening on the Riviera is a night of glamour, elegance, gourmet food and fine wines. The charity extravaganza has been raising considerable funds since it began 14 years ago.

Which is why, when Greg Holson and Lamb Coffey opened Home at Braddock Inn in June 2006, they knew it was something they wanted to be a part of -- and they have since been reclaiming the beautiful and historic inn and making it their own. The couple has embraced the community as well, creating a welcoming restaurant and restoring the old home built in 1903.

"My concept was a place called home," said Holson, who has been in the restaurant and hospitality industry most of his 46 years. Sort of born into it, like he was born into his large family (three sets of Irish twins, he laughed). Holson is the youngest of nine children. His wife, Coffey, has five siblings, so family is a big, big part of their lives. They have three children -- and the inn, where they probably spend more time than their home on Md. 75 near Ijamsville.

Coffey, who still works for the Silver Diner in Rockville in addition to handling the management of the inn, is originally from the Philadelphia area. Holson worked for Silver Diner about 10 years before finally making his dream of running his own restaurant come true.

A native Marylander who grew up in the College Park area, Holson spent some 16 years working summers in Ocean City at his family's restaurant, where he met his wife. The hard-working couple have opened restaurants in Virginia Beach and Breckenridge, Colo.

But what drew them to Frederick, and Braddock Heights, is the beauty of the area and the history. The couple immersed themselves in the local history, and these days, Holson finds himself vice president of the Braddock Heights Historical Society. Another draw is the sense of community -- the closeness to family -- a sense of home.

Home is the essence of the inn, where the couple has created a surprisingly cozy atmosphere in the old, large home, filling it with interesting antiques, period photos, warm wooden furniture and rope rugs on the floor.

The menu reflects the cozy and welcoming atmosphere.

"You can eat here," Holson said, "or you can dine here."

The menu offers everything from comfort foods like meatloaf to more contemporary dishes like shrimp and scallops with sundried tomatoes, served over pasta.

There's blackened ahi tuna as an appetizer, along with "Mom's Pizza," from the Holson's first family restaurant opened in 1968.

"Mom had eight meals in her arsenal," Holson said, and his menu lovingly reflects that with Home Classics -- meatloaf on Monday, fried chicken on Tuesday, pasta on Wednesday, pot luck on Thursday and fish and chips on Friday.

"Our meatloaf is the bomb," he said. He doesn't, however, use his mother's recipe. With that many children in 10 years, his mother did not have the time to refine recipes. "You find something and make it yours," he said of his recipe.

Holson knows his way around a crab cake, too. You don't mess with tradition. His crab cake is jumbo lump, seasoned Maryland style. All those years in Ocean City left their mark.

"We make our own fruit breads," Holson said, and seasonal cobblers are a big seller.

"The regulars know to order them ahead of their meal" as they are baked fresh and served warm.

"We like to serve foods that appeal to people's emotions," Holson said, such as the fritters made by dipping fresh apple slices in sweet potato pancake batter. The golden fried slices are then topped with caramel and Breyer's vanilla ice cream.

The inn is also open for special events, and some weekends the couple cater and play host to three or four gatherings -- from weddings and rehearsal dinners to bridal showers, family reunions and anniversaries, cocktail parties to business meetings.

In keeping with the tradition of the inn, they want to be the welcoming, local gathering place.

And Friday night, at An Evening on the Riviera, Home at Braddock Inn wants people to gather for the food, the fun, the music, the gala experience.

"It's the best party," said Holson, who participates in many charity events. He's not sure what he will be serving yet, but "it's about representing our place as best we can, in the food and the look" -- capturing the essence of home.