Where It All Began: Frank's Story

My name is Frank Riley and I am one of the co-owners of Stone Garden.  Stone Garden is a waterfront event space located in Westmoreland, New Hampshire.  My wife, Kristen and I have been living and loving this historic family property since 2013.  Our intention never was to reinvent the old family farm into an event space, but to reside and garden as we finished our graduate studies and professional training.  Even after we got married on the farm in 2015 we continued forth in our careers, not considering going off on our own in the hospitality industry.

After a few years of managing a high volume restaurant, I decided it was not for me.  Not because I did not like the job.  I always did like the rush of running around and problem solving, but having all of the responsibility and making less than our servers can wear down on any man.  I gave my notice and moved on, frankly, without a plan.  I scrambled and got myself a job bartending at another popular restaurant in a neighboring town.  This was the first time I took on the job title of bartender.

I instantly got hooked on mixing up new concoctions, but I wanted more.  I soon found myself searching for the best cocktail bar that I could find and submitted an application.  It happened to be a 3 hour round trip commute, but it would be worth it.  I emailed them on the off chance they had a position and three months later I got a response and an interview.  I again transitioned to another well regarded establishment, but this time I would be challenged.  I was challenged to learn more about bartending, spirits, wine, and food.  Despite the commute I stayed behind that bar for several years.  I learned a lot and it also afforded me the time and resources to start thinking about mine and Kristen’s future.  I loved my job but I could not stay behind the bar forever.  What were we going to do?  What would we become?

I cannot remember exactly when we decided we should step into the wedding business, but I know it has to do with our friends and family.  We had a pretty large wedding on the family farm and for many years our guests would tell us what a great experience they had and that we should consider hosting events.  At some point we pulled the trigger, but it most certainly did not happen overnight.  In fact it took years, but perseverance goes a long way.  It helps that we had each other through all of the “No’s” and backbreaking labor that went into booking our first couple of events.

We have now grown into something special and quite rewarding offering new services and having a great team behind us.  I am looking forward to nurturing our baby into a larger and more expansive brand as we continue to develop our flower farm and mobile bar service.  For me, the best thing about this whole process has been becoming my own boss.  In doing so I am constantly challenging myself, learning new skills, and feeding my creative side.  I like creating new opportunities for our business to grow and going through every step along the way.  My goal here is to capture that experience, as it is my passion and to share it with you all.  So please enjoy the process as we document here at To Have & To Grow.

Yours Truly,

Frank Riley