Dining elegance restored at Marion’s Historic Elgin Hotel

Dining Elegance Restored at Marion’s Historic Elgin Hotel Marion, Kan., September 23, 2019. The Historic Elgin Hotel in Marion, Kan., will inaugurate its Parlour 1886 restaurant and lounge just days from now for Marion’s annual celebration, Old Settlers Day. The new restaurant and lounge will offer guests a sneak peak at what’s in store for the grand opening later in October by serving beer, wine and cocktails, appetizers, a couple of entrees and dessert from 3 to 10 p.m. on Friday, 9/27 and 3 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, 9/28. The project of restoring the “unusually fine dining room” that locals praised when the hotel opened in 1886 has been a vision of Wichita natives, Jeremy and Tammy Ensey since they purchased the landmark three years ago. “We want to provide the same kind of excellence and quality that made this hotel a destination for generations while updating to satisfy modern tastes,” says Tammy Ensey, proprietor of the hotel. That means hard-to-find chargrilled oysters today rather than the raw-on-the-half-shell of the past. Cold tongue is out. Fireball whiskey barbecue wings, fried goat cheese croutons, pistachio cream chicken, mac-and-cheese stuff meatloaf, scallops to dive for, and prime ribs are in. Not only this, but the Parlour will offer locally-raised Angus steaks and burgers, a staple for any eatery located in Flint Hills of Kansas. Michael Trimboli was recently hired as the executive chef for the restaurant, with Andy Hansen, a local to Kansas, as manager. The Parlour 1886 name evokes the long history of welcoming guests, a theme of the restored three-story limestone structure that was named Most Famous Hotel in Kansas by House Beautiful magazine last year. Historic records indicate that the Elgin Hotel originally offered a double parlor, which, along with the opening date, inspired the restaurant name. The restaurant and lounge will be queued up to accommodate approximately 65 people inside, including seating at a full bar and seating for 10 in a private dining room. Another 24 can be seated on the covered outdoor dining porch. The Parlour will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening for dinner, with a brunch being served on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The grand opening of the restaurant has yet to be determined. “We are excited to offer after-church dining on Sundays, which has been something that the community has missed for many years,” says Hansen. “And just offering a nice place to get a drink with friends will be a real bonus for those in the community as well.” In addition to the restaurant, the hotel (historicelginhotel.com) features a 1,200-square-foot Victorian ballroom, a vintage courtyard, a conference room, library, and game lounge for weddings, celebrations and other gatherings as well as five living rooms, a verandah, a covered porch, and a fitness center. Its 12 suites feature leading-edge amenities such as en-suite bathrooms, jacuzzi tubs, spa showers, and streaming TVs.