Formerly: Stagecoach Inn · Lockwood's Hotel · Thayer's Hotel · Fairview Hotel
Manchester, Vermont · Founded 1975 · Building: 1790 southern section; later additions and alterations
A 1975 tavern revival in a 1790 Manchester stagecoach inn, now operating under the Iraci family after centuries of changing names and uses.
Ye Olde Tavern occupies a historic Manchester building whose southern section was built in 1790 by Dorset master builder Aaron Sheldon as the Stagecoach Inn. The property later became Lockwood's Hotel, Thayer's Hotel and Fairview Hotel before closing and taking other uses. Peter and Susan Palmer restored and reopened it as Ye Olde Tavern in 1975; Joseph and Patty Iraci have owned the restaurant since 2022.
Dorset master builder Aaron Sheldon constructs the southern section of the property as the Stagecoach Inn.
Source: Manchester Vermont, "Ye Olde Tavern"; Ye Olde Tavern, "Our Story"; Manchester Journal, July 6, 2022
Around this time, the property is known as Lockwood's Hotel and receives its marble porch.
Source: Ye Olde Tavern, "Our Story"
Steven Thayer purchases the hotel and renames it Thayer's Hotel.
Source: Ye Olde Tavern, "Our Story"
The property becomes the Fairview Hotel and serves as headquarters for a local movement to license the sale of alcoholic beverages.
Source: Ye Olde Tavern, "Our Story"
The Fairview Hotel's liquor license is revoked and the hotel closes, according to the tavern's historical account.
Source: Ye Olde Tavern, "Our Story"
Electricity is installed in the building, according to the tavern's history.
Source: Ye Olde Tavern, "Our Story"
Walter Clemons-McGuire reopens the property as a hotel and antique shop after renovations.
Source: Ye Olde Tavern, "Our Story"
Peter and Susan Palmer complete an extensive restoration, reopen the property as a restaurant, and give it the Ye Olde Tavern name.
Source: Ye Olde Tavern, "Our Story"
The Manchester Journal reports that the property is listed on the Vermont Register of Historic Places; the tavern's own account gives an earlier Vermont Register reference that requires reconciliation.
Source: Manchester Journal, "Ye Olde Tavern in Manchester changes owners," July 6, 2022; Ye Olde Tavern, "Our Story"
Joseph and Patty Iraci purchase Ye Olde Tavern from Michael Brandt.
Source: Manchester Journal, "Ye Olde Tavern in Manchester changes owners," July 6, 2022
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Manchester tourism, the current tavern history and the Manchester Journal all identify Aaron Sheldon's 1790 Stagecoach Inn construction. This review did not inspect deeds, tax rolls, builder accounts or an architectural survey documenting the exact construction date.
The property is marketed and locally described as Vermont's oldest tavern, but the documented history includes a 1904 closure and later reuse as a hotel and antique shop before its 1975 restaurant reopening. The building's age and long hospitality association are clear; literal uninterrupted tavern operation is not.
Available local tourism, business-history and newspaper accounts identify Aaron Sheldon of Dorset as the 1790 builder. This review found no support for the candidate's Thaddeus Hurd attribution.
The tavern's historical account identifies a spring floor in the third-floor ballroom. The reviewed sources do not establish the candidate's explanation that all sloping derives from natural long-term settling.
The tavern and Manchester tourism describe the Stagecoach Inn as serving Green Mountain Boys, statesmen and gentry. The association is chronologically possible but this review found no guest register, correspondence, diary, newspaper or military record identifying specific patrons.
The Manchester Journal reports that Joseph and Patty Iraci purchased Ye Olde Tavern on May 16, 2022 from previous owner Michael Brandt. The report supports restaurant business ownership, while current property title and legal entity details were not reviewed.
The tavern's active website and Manchester tourism listing provide current dinner hours, reservations contact, address, phone number and menu details for 5183 Main Street.
Thaddeus Hurd built Ye Olde Tavern in 1790.
Available local sources identify Aaron Sheldon of Dorset as the 1790 master builder of the Stagecoach Inn.
Source: Manchester Vermont, "Ye Olde Tavern"; Ye Olde Tavern, "Our Story"; Manchester Journal, July 6, 2022
Ye Olde Tavern has operated continuously as a tavern since 1790.
The property has a 1790 hospitality origin but records describe a 1904 closure, a later hotel-and-antique-shop use, and a 1975 Ye Olde Tavern restaurant reopening.
Source: Ye Olde Tavern, "Our Story"; Manchester Journal, July 6, 2022
Ye Olde Tavern was always called Ye Olde Tavern.
The historic property was known as Stagecoach Inn, Lockwood's Hotel, Thayer's Hotel and Fairview Hotel before Peter and Susan Palmer reopened it under the Ye Olde Tavern name in 1975.
Source: Ye Olde Tavern, "Our Story"
Ye Olde Tavern was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The reviewed sources do not verify a National Register listing. They refer instead to Vermont Register of Historic Places recognition, with the tavern's own account and the Manchester Journal giving differing dates that need reconciliation.
Source: Ye Olde Tavern, "Our Story"; Manchester Journal, July 6, 2022
The property endured because its historic structure could be adapted through changing travel, hotel, retail and dining eras. The present Ye Olde Tavern is a preservation-minded restaurant revival rather than a literally uninterrupted tavern operation from 1790, carrying the building's history forward through careful reuse and current Iraci-family stewardship.
The historic southern section of the property dates to 1790, when local sources say Dorset master builder Aaron Sheldon constructed the Stagecoach Inn. The active Ye Olde Tavern restaurant name dates to its 1975 restoration and reopening, not to the original construction year.
Ye Olde Tavern is widely marketed as Vermont's oldest tavern, but its documented history includes a 1904 closure and later use as a hotel and antique shop before the Ye Olde Tavern restaurant reopened in 1975. Its building and hospitality lineage are historic, but literal uninterrupted tavern operation is not established.
Local tourism, the tavern's history and the Manchester Journal identify Aaron Sheldon of Dorset as the master builder who constructed the 1790 Stagecoach Inn. The candidate's attribution to Thaddeus Hurd is not supported by the sources reviewed.
The tavern describes a spring floor in its third-floor ballroom, a historic feature of the building. The sources reviewed do not establish that all floor slopes were caused simply by natural settling over more than two centuries.
Joseph and Patty Iraci purchased Ye Olde Tavern in May 2022 from Michael Brandt, according to the Manchester Journal. This identifies the restaurant proprietors; a deed or Vermont business filing would be needed to confirm the precise property and legal-entity structure.
Yes. Ye Olde Tavern is operating at 5183 Main Street in Manchester as a dinner restaurant. Its official site lists current seating and reservation details; check the schedule directly before visiting.
5183 Main St, Manchester, VT 05255
(802) 362-0611
Ye Olde Tavern serves dinner and asks guests to call directly for reservations; verify current service days and seating times before visiting.