A Fairbury staple is being rebranded.
Hoffman House, at the corner of Third Street and Route 24, has turned into a local destination and is going back to its roots.
“Hoffman House just rolled off the tongue and people started to call it Hoffman House,” recalled owner Sharon Hoffman. “What we’d really like to do is go back to the history of the house and rename it the Dominy House.”
The Dominy family originally built the house in the late 1800s. This is a name synonymous with Fairbury history since the library is called Dominy Memorial Library. Lorenzo Dominy constructed the house.
“He brought in hand carved and very ornate woodwork, Italian marble fireplaces, a tall ceiling and even a little bit of plumbing you could say,” notes Hoffman.
Hoffman plans to add a history wall with newspaper articles and photos of the home when previous owners Betty Nussbaum and the Rathbuns owned it.
As a part of the rebranding effort, the name Sisters Inn will be dropped and the business will be known as Take Five Rendezvous with the concept of taking a break and relaxing at the house.
“Come in with your friends, relax, get to know each other, put down your cell phones – that sort of thing,” explained Hoffman.
Along with the idea of fellowship, the business added wine which tends to bring people together and food is coming soon. Menu plans are underway with a “small plate” concept of gathering around the table with friends and sharing a bottle of wine.
“The plates are meant to be passed around and everyone just has a little to eat while they’re chatting.”
The flagship product will be a type of pizza, known as Tarte Flambee or Flamkuchen, served in Europe between Germany and France. This is a region many Fairbury residents descended from called Alsace.
“There’s some history there,” admits Hoffman.
This pizza has a very thin crust with a cream sauce and various toppings. Other food in addition to specialty cocktails will include bourbon meatballs with coconut rice and charcuterie. They will even offer non-alcoholic drinks such as a line of wine from Katy Perry in addition to iced tea and hot tea.
Reservations are recommended once the restaurant portion of the house opens as there will be limited space. Hours will be Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.
Follow the Hoffman House on Facebook or online for updates on these changes. The Facebook page name has now been changed to, “Take 5 Rendezvous at Dominy House, Fairbury” and a soft opening is set for the first week of May. More hours will be rolled out once they have more experience with the flow.
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