New Kent English village visionary looking to walk away

Owner John Crump is putting the restaurant business inside the Rose & Crown Tavern at New Kent Courthouse up for sale.

Alan Chamberlain photo

In the middle of the last decade, John Crump’s vision for transforming the New Kent Courthouse area into a traditional English village began to take shape.

Already in place were key aspects — schools, a church, and government offices. After years of planning, the county resident embarked in 2006 on a multi-million dollar project to fill in the missing parts — commercial buildings from where shopkeepers, artisans, restaurateurs, and service providers could attract customers. A 70-unit residential development was slated to follow completion of the commercial component.

“Maidstone” began to rise on land bordered by Route 249 and Egypt Road, close to county schools. A short distance away, Crump worked on converting family property next door to the county’s administration/courthouse complex into “Preservation Park.” An abandoned house on the property became the Rose & Crown Tavern, which opened for business just over five years ago.

Crump and his uncle/partner at the time, Drexel Crump, who his since passed away, sank $3.5 million into the project and took out another $3 million in bank loans. But when the economy went into freefall in 2008, Crump’s vision got sucked down with it. He filed for bankruptcy protection in late 2011. The banks, meanwhile, sought foreclosure.

Eventually, both Maidstone and Preservation Park sold for prices substantially below the properties’ combined $11.2 million assessed value. Shortly after foreclosure, Northern Virginia developer Jonathan Kinney snapped up Preservation Park for $340,000. Then late last year, Richmond developer John Adamson paid $1,125,000 for Maidstone’s commercial component and $350,000 for the undeveloped residential property.

Today, Crump is left with managing the restaurant business inside the Rose & Crown building, now owned by Kinney. And Crump is ready to walk away.

“I’m just tired,” he said in an interview last week concerning his decision to put the business up for sale. “I put in 60-70 hours per week, and when I’m not here, I’m thinking about it 24/7.

“It’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever done,” he said about managing a restaurant. “And I’ve been a helicopter pilot [in the military], assistant comptroller for the state of Virginia, and commissioner of revenue for New Kent. I was offered the vice-presidency at Christopher Newport [University], but I turned that down to come here.”

He’s seeking to get out by Dec. 1, but if a new owner or additional managerial help is not found by then, the tavern’s operating hours could be reduced, he said. There are no plans to curtail special events held at the restaurant, and the tavern’s catering business will remain intact, he added.

“This is the perfect situation for a young chef or a husband and wife,” he said. “This is already an ongoing operation, and a new owner won’t have to buy equipment. That’s owned by Jonathan Kinney.”

Crump said 80 percent of his customers come from the Williamsburg area. He expressed disappointment in what he views as lack of support from New Kent residents. The tavern, however, does draw customers from local bed and breakfast establishments and nearby golf courses.

“It would be so much easier if the restaurant was closer to Richmond or Williamsburg,” he said. “It would be easier to get staff, and the clientele would be close by.”

Crump employs 10. Some are part-time and all reside in New Kent or Charles City. Hours, for now, are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays. If hours are cut back, he said his work force could be reduced somewhat but probably to no lower than eight.

Looking back on his overall vision, he said the economic downturn played a major role in its demise, as did his dealings with the county during the project’s infancy. He and his partner spent just over $2 million for water/sewer and other infrastructure plus environmental studies, he said. Those were expenses they did not anticipate and expected the county to pick up, he added.

“We were under the impression that the county would bring water and sewer to our property line,” he said, noting that didn’t happen. “We even offered to put in right of way on Route 249 to the Pamunkey treatment plant, but the county said no.”

He and his partner paid for water/sewer installation, including work that involved drilling under the parking lot that separates New Kent Middle School and the high school football/track stadium, he said. After completion, the system, under New Kent law, had to be turned over to the county.

“Then we paid $32,000 to connect to a water/sewer system we put in,” he added.

In retrospect, he wishes he had stopped the process before actual construction got under way, adding he lacked the knowledge to know when to call a halt.

“I think I was ahead of my time as a visionary, and the county was too far behind,” he said. “The county didn’t have enough experience to implement the policies they put in place and didn’t have the people to administer it properly.”

But things have changed, he said. A different set of individuals now occupy key county offices, thus a project the size and scope of Maidstone/Preservation Park could be a much easier and smoother undertaking, he added.

“The timing was off back then, and I probably overbuilt,” he admitted. “But I still want the project to succeed, and I’ll do what I can to help. I think it’s the right thing to do and the right type of development.”

Crump met this week with Adamson. He said the new Maidstone owner is pressing forward with further development at the site.

“[Adamson] is on board with the project just as we envisioned it,” he said.

The county’s community development office confirmed that a site plan has been approved for expanding an existing child daycare business. Also, a building permit has been issued for constructing a model home in Maidstone’s residential section while a permit for a second house is pending.