Memorabilia and Memories of Beethoven’s Inn

In one of the first posts I wrote after setting up this blog two years ago, I shared my fond memories of the lovely Beethoven’s Inn on Merrimac Trail in Williamsburg. The Inn was opened on December 16, 1975 (Beethoven’s birthday) by Jim Wesson and his wife Ann. The Wessons ran the beloved establishment for 22 years, until handing the keys to a long-time employee and moving on to new adventures. A few years later, sadly, Beethoven’s Inn closed its doors forever.

In writing that early post about this establishment that I loved so, I did a lot of digging online for photographs or other artifacts relating to the Inn to share with readers, but sadly I found little. Today, however, I am delighted to be able to share some memorabelia that recently came to me from the original owner of Beethoven’s Inn, Jim Wesson himself.

Jim recently came across my earlier post and commented, graciously offering to send me some items from the Inn that he has kept all these years. I was quick to take him up on his offer and I’m happy to report that I’ve just received a Beethoven’s Inn pamphlet with coupon, a pamphlet for Jim’s other restaurant, The Ancient Mariner’s Inn of Yorktown, as well as the full Beethoven’s Inn 11×17-inch menu, which immediately brought back a sea of splendid memories.

I’ve scanned the items in and a click on the images you see here will take you to the full 600dpi scan files. Enjoy! (And thank you so much Jim.)

As a related item, I wanted to share a rather touching story that I was fortunate enough to have stumbled upon while doing research to put this post together. Then-student Alyssa Lodewick recently shared a life changing, personal experience that she had while working at the Inn one hot summer night, 25 years ago. A couple came into the Inn for a meal, but when they got up to leave, what they gave Alyssa was much more than just a check for the bill.

6 Comments

  1. I ate there once. Had a friend who went to William & Mary and raved about it.

  2. I worked at this restaurant several years while in school at William & Mary. I learned how to be a great short order cook from Jim! Fond memories of making many of the famous ‘Titanic’ sandwiches. Sorry to see that it no longer exists.

  3. Anne Haltiner

    July 4, 2020 at 8:07 pm

    Thank you so very much for posting the Menu! We loved that restaurant and the family. We will be recreating the “Waldo” and others often.
    Best wishes to the Wesson family….

  4. I went to Beethoven’s Inn often on Sundays when I was stationed at Fort Eustis, VA in 1979 and 1980. Even bought a t-shirt. Awesome menu. Wonderful place to hear good music and eat great deli.

  5. I found this gem of a little place when I 1st moved to Williamsburg 30 years ago…I loved eating there. The food was outstanding and the atmosphere was laid back and relaxed. I took every out of town guest that I had to this restaurant.. I was very sorry when it closed. Thanks for the memories..

  6. Oh my goodness! I can’t thank you enough for this post with the menu. We first went to Beethoven’s in 1985. There was a sandwich I absolutely loved (The Jazzman) but I could never recreate it due to a faulty memory. Now I can!

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