Born and raised at the Appel Inn, Chris has always been involved in hospitality. As a family owned-and-run business, he has spent many years lending a hand in all trades whether it be renovations,  landscape and design, meeting with clients as well as jumping in to help the caterers! Chris cherishes the 1700's property and always dreamed of his own contribution to continue the family business with innovation and historical preservation.

Spending many years on the road as a US Ski Team athlete and later assistant coach, Chris fell in love with many aspects of the European lifestyle, landscape and architecture. On the off seasons, Chris would visit his parents, giving his time to the family business.

While home one summer, Chris came across a local, 1800s English dairy barn that was in the process of being demolished making room for new development. Desperate to save this piece of history he contacted the existing owner to request to purchase the structure. He had a total of 4 months to disassemble and get it off the existing property. With no money and absolutely no experience with barn (de)construction, Chris did his homework and found a small crew of 5 guys willing to help him take it down piece by piece and reassemble the frame where it sits now - Guilderland Center, NY, neighboring the Appel Inn. 

Chris had officially and spontaneously began his next adventure. Being an extreme commitment, Chris and Jess had been in a long distance relationship for a few years at this point and decided to settle in Altamont, NY dedicating themselves to this unique challange during their spare time while working full time jobs. Since 2016, the barn has slowly been in the process of being mindfully pieced back together with modern touches for functionality and future use as a timeless event space. 

Chris has restored and redesigned everything himself to this day with some help from family, friends, Youtube and Facebook Marketplace. 

The Barn at Black Creek was officially named in 2021, based-off its location nestled along the Black Creek and is currently about 75% complete. Its features are to include: radiant heat floors, interior restrooms, grand staircase to second floor balcony and porch. An earth ramp with bluestone staircase leads to a secluded ceremony site along the creek. Other unique features include: a traditional silo with a balcony that overlooks the terrace, beautifully manicured landscape, various fruit trees, perennials, ornamental grasses and a long, sweeping stone wall along the creek.

Though not quite completed, Chris and Jess were able to pull off their first private event in October of 2022 - their very own wedding celebration. They designed and constructed the bluestone staircase down to their ceremony site with a unique and vintage-bohemian inspired backdrop. 

The Barn at Black Creek is projected to be completed and ready for its grand opening within the next year. We'd love for you to follow our journey through its completion!

In the meantime, The Barn at Black Creek offers vintage, farm, and bohemian - style furniture pieces as well as vintage china for off property rentals to allow others to create the environment of their dreams for their own special day or private event!

See Our Services for more details.