The renovated O’Shea Mansion on Washington Street — now known as the Bell Inn and Tavern — is littered with touches of the city’s history. Keeping the history of the mansion, and the city itself, at the forefront of the new bed and breakfast, which features eight boutique hotel rooms, an underground speakeasy, and an outdoor patio, was a key goal for developer Ed Greeley as he undertook the challenge of transforming the space.
The project was completed 90 days early and is on track for an October opening. Greeley said the inn will open to the public for dinner and drinks beginning Oct. 10, lunch and dinner beginning Oct. 16, and Sunday brunch beginning Oct. 22. Bookings for the hotel rooms are set to go live on Expedia this week, with rooms available beginning next weekend, and Greeley said he expects the rooms to fill up quickly, particularly given the holiday season. And while an opening is now just weeks away, Greeley said the road to get to this point was not an easy one.
“It was hard, it was difficult, it was challenging,” Greeley said in a telephone interview Monday afternoon. “When they built the home 160 years ago… I don’t think they envisioned a kitchen the scale of the one we built. They didn’t envision three taverns and dining space.”
It was a “challenge to all the engineers and my team to make it coexist in a way that would not only satisfy the product but also the Building Department,” Greeley continued. “I think for the most part we nailed it.”
Though the Bell Inn has yet to welcome the public through its red doors, it did play host to a fundraiser for Mayor Ted Bettencourt’s reelection campaign Saturday night — providing a first look at the new space.
Greeley said actually opening the doors — even if just for a night — was a gratifying experience.
“There’s been a buildup and anticipation over the last couple of years from folks that were interested in the project,” he said. “There was an overwhelming sense of amazement.”
“I don’t believe that we left anybody disappointed,” Greeley continued.
Bettencourt, for one, was anything but disappointed.
“I am happy to report that the Bell Inn and Tavern managed to exceed even my highest expectations,” he said in a statement. “Ed Greeley and his team have created a unique dining and hospitality experience. It will complement so many other businesses in downtown Peabody and be a destination for people from all around the region.”
The Bell Inn name is another way for Greeley and Co. to pay homage to the city’s history.
The original Bell Inn and Tavern at 2 Washington St. marked the spot where a group of North Shore farmers met about a week before the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775. A tree planted outside the property marks the place where the farmers gathered, Greeley said.
The mansion itself was first constructed in 1867 and was nearly torn down when Gloucester-based Empire Design & Development bought the building with plans to raze it and replace it with apartments and shops. The city seized the property to prevent the company from doing so in 2015, and Greeley purchased it, along with 12 and 16 Washington St., in late December 2021 for $751,000.
The other properties Greeley owns on Washington Street will be converted into a parking lot, which he said will be open in five weeks, and “work/live combinations” for staff will also be built on the properties.
Greeley teased that he had plans to grow the estate and expand the campus beyond 2 Washington St., should the Bell Inn be a success. He declined to divulge any details, only saying doing so would be contingent on help from the hotel’s customers.
Now, the Bell Inn is shifting into its next phase, with construction in the rear-view mirror.
“Today it’s about my team that was able to achieve the feat over the course of the last two years,” Greeley said. “Another team comes in and better takes care of the people that are going to be our customers.”
While Greeley has a great sense of anticipation for the Inn’s official opening, he said it’s up to paying customers to determine whether the reimaging of the O’Shea was a success.
“We’re in a little bit of a Cinderella stage right now,” he said. “That’s going to slowly dwindle down over the course of the next year.”
“We’re not going to be judged by our construction, we’re going to be judged by our customers,” he added.
Greeley said all he hoped for was that the Bell Inn became a place that created lasting memories for everyone who walked through its doors.
“It’s all about the happiness that was enjoyed inside the Bell Inn and Tavern, the memories that were made,” he said. “I see a lot of good coming from it.”
