Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
Mountain Quest Inn, in Frost, has been a unique Pocahontas County destination for decades and now that it is under new management, it has a new amenity to offer – a restaurant.
In the past, the commercial kitchen and dining area were mainly used to serve guests and for special occasions, but now, director and CEO Jedi Hill and wellness director Anna Rokhlina are opening the restaurant to the community as well as guests.
“We’re starting out simple, so we’re going to do three course meals,” Hill said. “You have your soup or salad at the beginning, then you’ll have your choice of meat, a couple of sides and then a dessert.”
The restaurant will be open Fridays and Saturdays, 4 to 7 p.m. and Sundays, noon to 3 p.m.
They had a soft opening for a Mother’s Day brunch, but because it was a short notice decision, they didn’t have much time to get the word out.
“We just got approved two days before,” Hill said.
Now with the restaurant up and running, the cople can focus on the other projects they have planned for Mountain Quest Inn.
Hill, a native of Ohio, and Rokhlina, originally from Siberia, Russia, came across Mountain Quest when they were on their own quest – to find their forever home. They sold their home in Ohio and bought a sailboat, which they sailed in the Great Lakes and down the east coast to the Carolinas and Florida.
Finally making their way inland, they returned to Pocahontas County where they tried to buy a farm years ago. Even though that plan didn’t come to fruition, it didn’t sour the couple on the area.
They saw pictures of Mountain Quest online and traveled from Key West, Florida, to West Virginia to have a look.
“We fell in love with the place,” Rokhlina said.
Mountain Quest owner Alex Bennett met with the couple and the three bonded over their love of writing and have shared interests in research and studying scientific and metaphysical fields.
Things fell into place and after one night of rest at the Inn, the couple got to work with renovations and making sure the Inn was ready for guests.
The 11 guest rooms are one of the many aspects that make the Inn so special. Each room has a theme – jungle, nautical, outer space, etc. – with hidden touches throughout the rooms.
In addition to providing lodging for individuals or groups, the couple plans to offer wellness programs including yoga, meditation and Reiki session.
“Wellness has always been my passion,” Rokhlina said. “I originally studied yoga, then I incorporated meditation in my private practice and personal routine. Then I became certified in Reiki, so I’m first, second and master level Reiki.
“I’m also reverent because you are required to be reverent when you do Reiki because you lay hands on someone,” she added.
Reiki is a form of energy healing created by Mikao Usui in Japan in the 1920s. Reiki reverence, like Rokhlina uses a technique called palm healing or hands-on healing through which universal energy is transferred through the palms to the client.
Reiki encourages emotional and physical healing.
To offer the services, Rokhlina said she must first connect herself to the land, but the stress of getting the restaurant and Inn in order has hindered her, for now.
“When you do Reiki, you have to become completely centered, so I need to fast for a couple of days – don’t eat meat, don’t drink coffee,” she said. “My first step was to set up the room [the wellness room], my next phase is when I fast and just meditate for an hour like I used to do so I can open myself and be a channel for Divine’s light.”
For now, the wellness services will be offered in the farmhouse which is connected to the Inn, but there are future plans to build a separate wellness center in the meadow near the Inn where Rokhlina can see clients and, hopefully, one day, she will have a full staff to offer other services.
“I would love to have an osteopath, acupuncturist and homeopath,” she said. “At this point, we’ll only be providing Reiki. I know a few people in the area that can do yoga sessions, so we’ll do that and meditation sessions in the labyrinth.”
Also living at Mountain Quest is some livestock including three mini horses, two donkeys, four horses and a coop full of chickens.
The chickens provide eggs for the restaurant and when the flock is big enough, will also provide meat.
Hill said he hopes to expand on the farm to table aspect by adding more livestock to the farm.
“I’m looking for Hereford cows,” he said. “Eventually we would like to have enough of a herd that we can do more farm to table.”
For updates on the menu and other events offered at the Inn, visit The Inn at Mountain Quest Facebook page which is updated regularly.
