Throughout Southwest Virginia there are mountains of treasures waiting to be discovered.  One of those treasures is the small town of St. Paul on the scenic Clinch River. St. Paul is packed with surprises including a top notch boutique hotel and farm to table restaurant serving up Southern hospitality and a taste of the Hells Kitchen television show. 

A Hell’s Kitchen surprise in St. Paul - Ina + Forbes Restaurant

(*Since this post was originally published, Ina + Forbes restaurant has closed.)

Chef Torrece Gregoire, better known as Chef T. knows how to take command in the kitchen.  This talented and spirited chef competed in Seasons 14  & 18 of Hell’s Kitchen making it as far as the number two spot in Season 14.  These days you can find Chef T. at Ina + Forbes restaurant along Main Street in this town of about a thousand people nestled in the Clinch River Valley.  Chef T. took over the restaurant inside the Western Front Hotel (more about the hotel a little later) in 2019.   Ina + Forbes focuses on the farm to table concept offering up an Appalachian and soulful blend of cuisine.

I met Chef T. while attending Euphoria, a food, wine and music festival in Greenville, South Carolina.  She was one of the guest chefs at the event, and in a role familiar to her she was competing against another chef in a cooking showdown.  After the event I managed to catch up with Chef T. and we talked a little about Southwest Virginia, where I lived for many years. We exchanged information which lead to the invite to Ina + Forbes and St. Paul., a town that had been on my radar for some time.

A few days before visiting St. Paul, Chef T. was finishing up one of her biggest projects, building a life sized Gingerbread House that filled up the front windows of the restaurant’s banquet room. Of course, that wasn’t the only thing Chef T. was working on.  She was also wrapping up planning for the Harvest Social that would become the talk of the town during my visit.   

The event happened on a cool evening in November. Main Street was closed off and there was plenty of activity in the hours before the Harvest Social started.  A big white tent, fire pits and a wine truck all filled the space in front of the Western Font Hotel and Ina + Forbes.  Inside workers put the finishing touches on a charcuterie station, a giant pegboard filled with donuts, a shrimp and grits station and a table featuring Radford Coffee.

Part of Chef T’s persona is team building and from what I could tell, the St. Paul community is her “team”. Throughout the evening I talked to out of town guests and locals.  Other than a dip in the outside temperature and having to  wait in line for the savory shrimp and grits (which were definitely worth the wait), everyone seemed pleased with the Harvest Social which also included a chef showdown between Chef Brett (one of Chef T.’s competitors on Hell’s Kitchen) and Chef Bradley Griffin of Sarah Jean’s Eatery in Glade Spring, Virginia.

As the crowd started to thin out and the food was put away, a small group gathered around the bar at the restaurant.  Most of the people were locals and one of the musicians of the night started taking requests, including one for Chef T., “Tennessee Whiskey.”  Chef T. was all smiles and it was evident from the conversations all around that the Harvest Social was a big success and the people of St. Paul were thankful to have Chef T. around.  I expect, she’ll be having other big events like it at the restaurant.

The next morning, I got a different taste of Ina + Forbes as I enjoyed the restaurant’s Sunday Brunch.  Chef T. was out of town for a charity event but her staff served up superb selections including bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy and meatloaf.  All around you could feel the Southwest Virginia vibes.  Large historic photos of the area and simple décor helped make you feel at home almost as much as the food.   And a sign at the bar kind of summed up the whole experience.  “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one hasn’t dined well.  And that’s certainly something I had done.

Ina + Forbes isn’t the only surprising restaurant in St. Paul. The Sugar Hill Brewing Company has become a haven for people seeking out craft brews as well as great food. A barbecue joint, a pizza place, and a bakery round out the choices downtown. Unfortunately on my visit I was unable to try them, but I plan to on my next visit.

A surprising place to stay in St. Paul - The Western Front Hotel

Ina + Forbes might be reason enough to visit St. Paul, but there’s much more.  The restaurant is located right off the lobby of the Western Front Hotel.  (There’s a big jail cell door separating the two, but I’m not sure what the story behind it is.  Still it’s a pretty cool entrance). This 30-room boutique hotel in the heart of St. Paul pays a lot of attention to detail, relying heavily on its rugged mountain surroundings. 

Guests coming from Main Street enter the hotel through a large red door with the Western Front Logo on it.  The lobby is small, but there is plenty of couch space to relax a bit before checking in or while waiting to go into Ina + Forbes.  Off to the other side of the lobby is Delilah’s Gifts, where you’ll find unique items related to the hotel and to St. Paul along with snacks and drinks.

The wood floors throughout the hotel work to accentuate the hotel’s outdoorsy feel.  And just about everywhere you look there are odes to St. Paul’s natural setting including a giant Clinch River “postcard” near the check-in desk.  Brightly painted boat oars with numbers help you identify the different rooms.  My room was one of the smaller ones at the Western Front but it was plenty of space for me.  There was a cute retro mini-fridge and retro alarm clock along with a small desk that perfect for doing a little writing.   The bathroom was spacious and filled with special touches that made you feel at home.

If you need a place for you or your family to “hang out” the Western Front offers up a place called “The Roost.”  This space in the front of the hotel overlooks Main Street.  There is plenty of space to just sit and relax, or you can play a game of pool or pull out one of the dozens of board games you’ll find there.

Inside each room you’ll find a bright silver tin pail with a small sheet of paper in it.  This is your key to getting a continental breakfast delivered to your room.   Just fill out what you want, from selections like yogurt, muffins, homemade granola and fresh fruit, then put the bucket outside the door of the room.  Bright and early the next morning you can enjoy breakfast in the comfort of your room.

Outdoor surprises in St. Paul

The Western Front Hotel and Ina + Forbes take advantage of their beautiful surroundings in this part of Southwest Virginia.  The Clinch River, one of the most bio-diverse rivers in North America, flows through this small town.  Over the years, St. Paul has worked to protect these waters and make them the focus of an outdoor playground filled with places to fish, float and feed your senses with the beauty of nature.

There are about 8-miles of developed hiking and/or biking trails the town maintains. They take you along the river, to places like Bluebell Island, Oxbow Lake and up on a high ridge that was the site of an old French settlement. The trails provide plenty of opportunities to watch birds and other wildlife as well as enjoy the natural beauty of the Clinch River valley.

Check out St. Paul and other places in the spotlight on WATE-TV’s Living East Tennessee.

Southwest Virginia’s Spearhead ATV trails run to St. Paul which means you might see a few ATVs on the town streets.  You don’t have to have an ATV to enjoy the miles and miles of trails running through these mountain communities.  They are available to rent in St. Paul.

St. Paul isn’t far from places like Bristol, the Birthplace of Country Music or Abingdon, home to the Barter Theater and the Virginia Creeper Trail.  St. Paul will soon be home to the Clinch River State Park, but there are plenty of others in the area including Natural Tunnel and Breaks Interstate Park, the Grand Canyon of the South.

Have you visited St. Paul, Virginia?  If so, let me know what you thought about it in the comments. And be sure and follow my travels on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.