We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Steven Brewington. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Steven below.

Steven , appreciate you joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

We believe happy staff equals happy guests, so our first priority is to creating a team that feels cared for and appreciated. We are a family owned and operated company with the goal of welcoming not only guests, but our employees into that larger community. When you’re here, our motto is “our farm is your farm,” and that starts with our people.

We do that through not only allowing but encouraging our staff to experience the property as a guest in our restaurant, through overnight stays and enjoying the on-property activities like our annual staff hunt or hiking the trails in their off hours.

As for compensation, in addition to providing benefits such as complimentary health insurance and unlimited time off, we offer revenue sharing to all guest-facing employees. A portion of the guest’s resort fee is divided each pay period among staff based on sales and the hours they work.

We’ve found in an industry that is struggling to find and retain quality staff, this has created a team that’s not only motivated but also loyal.

Steven , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m honored to be a third generation caretaker of our little bend in the river. Having spent summers here as a child, it gave me a passion for preserving the land and the animals that also call our property home. It gives me great pride now to introduce guests to the beauty and wonder of East Tennessee by engaging them in exciting activities, world class lodging, dining and the warm hospitality of the people in our region.

Windy Hill Farm and Preserve is a destination resort and upland preserve in Loudon, Tennessee, offering guests an intimate, all-inclusive hospitality experience rooted in classic East Tennessee culture and tradition. Situated near the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains and Knoxville, Windy Hill is surrounded by two miles of shoreline along the Tennessee River and sits on 650 acres of idyllic countryside. Windy Hill blends warm Southern hospitality with a modern guest experience, boasting 18 thoughtfully designed guest accommodations, a chef-driven restaurant specializing in garden-to-table cuisine crafted with seasonal ingredients sourced from the property’s own working farm and garden, and a range of leisure activities and programming. The property’s origin as a cattle farm and quail hunting preserve established its focus on responsible stewardship, preservation and conservation, which serve as the core pillars of the Windy Hill experience from beginning to end.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

When I took over as manager of Windy Hill it was as it had always been, a working family farm. In an effort to rehabilitate the land we began to dedicate portions of the property to returning it to its original wildlife habitat. This created the opportunity to begin hosting high-end guided hunts. From there we saw the need for quality lodging and dining for our hunting guests.

With spacious and luxurious private cabins built, we looked to opportunities to host guests year-round and provide other ways to enjoy and experience the land. What followed was a world-class farm-to-table restaurant, a recreational activities program, and the development of a hospitality team capable of offering high quality service and guest experience.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

We provide the opportunity to rediscover nature, to escape the daily grind and reconnect with self and others through an elevated and authentic level of service and hospitality that’s also approachable and relaxing. While there are places you can do any one of those things, we think it’s unique to experience them all at a reasonable price.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.windyhillfarmtn.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/windyhillfarmtn/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/windyhillfarmtn
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/windyhillfarmtn/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/windy-hill-farm-and-preserve-loudon-2

Image Credits
Credit: Ben Finch Photography