Meet the innkeeper at Groton’s award-winning Benn Conger Inn: Shelley Newman

In the summer of 2021, purchasing The Benn Conger Inn (The Benn) was just a thought for Christine (Clare) Brennan, but it didn’t take long for Christine and her husband, Edward, to do so, after involving the entire family in the purchasing decision, hiring her nephew, Drew Clare, as vice president and general manager, and her cousins, Russ and Shelley Newman, as innkeepers. In fact, the Nov. 17, 2021 issue of this column tells the story of Christine’s childhood ties to what has become an award-winning venue here in Groton.

Now — just three years later — The Benn has earned a number of awards, such as Travelmyth’s Top 3 Small Hotels in Tompkins [County], NY 2023 award and its Top 20 Hotels Overall award, as well as Booking.com’s Traveller Review Award 2023. Most recently, The Benn earned a silver award from the 2024 Finger Lakes Favorites in the bed-and-breakfast category.

Shelley has played an integral role at The Benn from the very beginning, when she started out cleaning rooms. Since 2022, Shelley has been the innkeeper.

“Shelley has been a huge part of our success over the last three years,” Drew said. “We have received well over 400 reviews from past guests from all over the world and across many different platforms. A large majority of the reviews mention Shelley by name and go into detail on how she positively impacted their experience at the inn.”

“Christine is actually Russ’ cousin,” Shelley explained. “Their moms, Margaret Clare and Kay Newman, were cousins. Russ was originally the innkeeper, but when his mom, Kay, became ill, I took over.”

Shelley grew up in Homer, New York with her parents, the late Dick and Janet McKane, and her siblings, Kathy (also deceased), Mike, Tracey and Brad. She graduated from Homer High School in 1981. After high school, Shelley trained to become an inspector at Buck-Bee Mears in Cortland, which is where she met Russ, who also worked there.

“I always wanted to be a veterinarian, but college wasn’t for me,” Shelley said. “I worked at Buck-Bee Mears for 18 years. It was a good-paying job, and I did meet Russ there. Our son, Richard, was born in 1991. We lived in Cortland, and still do.”

In July 1999, Shelley said she knew that Buck-Bee Mears was going out of business. New technology meant the aperture masks that went behind television screens to produce color were becoming obsolete, so Shelley finally had her opportunity to work with animals when she landed a position as a receptionist at Midstate Veterinary Services in Cortland, where she remained for the next 13 years.

“I loved that,” Shelley said. “It is so gratifying to help an animal and to see how happy their owners were when they picked them up healthy again. It was a very heartwarming job and a great place to work.”

Shelley spent the next six years working at Colonial Veterinary Hospital in Lansing, which she found very exciting because there were seven different veterinarians with different specialties. She said she “learned an incredible amount of things there — overwhelming at times, really.”

Unfortunately, the winter driving from Cortland became difficult for Shelley, so in 2018 she switched to a smaller practice back in Cortland for Dr. Mark Martin.

“I worked there full-time until I started cleaning the guest rooms at The Benn Conger, then I went part-time,” Shelley said, “but when I took over as innkeeper, that became my full-time job. I love what I do, but I have to say I am so busy because business is booming!”

“We have a lot of repeat guests who come to the area for the hiking and the wineries,” Shelley said, “and we have a lot of international visitors from places like Germany, Israel, Spain, Poland, South Africa, Australia, Sweden, Ukraine, Canada and of course from all over the United States! We are a good halfway point between New York City and Niagara Falls, so many of our guests stay with us en route.”

Shelley also said that The Benn has over 300 reviews on Booking.com, and that many of the guests say they came to stay because of the reviews. She especially enjoys taking the pictures of the guests before they leave, and she has a world map on the wall, on which she has the guests put a pin on the area where they live. It’s rather impressive to see!

“I love to bake and garden in my spare time,” Shelley said, “and I would like to start an ‘around-the-world’ recipe book with all the recipes I have gotten from our guests.”

“Shelley does it all — from breakfast in the morning to cleaning rooms, laundry, checking in guests and helping with banquets, to name just a few of her responsibilities,” Drew said. “Shelley is a huge asset for the inn, and we are lucky to have her as our innkeeper!” 

Shelley said that their banquet chef, Adam June, comes from Cornell University, and that she really enjoys helping with the special events The Benn puts on.  

“We’re going to continue to expand our offerings and add much more outdoor parking,” Shelley said. “Christine has recently purchased The Groton Hotel, and I am really looking forward to that when it’s ready to open!”

For a peek at the rooms at The Benn and The Dempsey House next door, whichShelley so excellently takes care of, visit the webpage thebenncongerinn.com. Also — keep an eye on this column in the coming months as the progress on The Groton Hotel unfolds!

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at 607-227-4922. 

In brief:

Free back-to-school carnival!

Groton Assembly of God, 701 S. Main St., is holding a back-to-school carnival on church property from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14 with fun for everyone. There will be a taco truck, carnival snacks, inflatables, carnival-themed games for kids (with prizes guaranteed), adult prize giveaways, crafts, a photo station and local police, fire, and EMS meet-and-greets — and it’s all free!

Groton school taxes 

Homeowners in the town of Groton will have received their Groton school tax bill by mail. If paying by mail, payments should be sent to Groton Central School District, c/o TST BOCES, 555 Warren Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850.

All in-person payments must be made at the Groton office of the First National Bank of Groton during regular banking hours. Please bring your entire bill with you and pay with no penalty by Sept. 30. A 2% penalty will be added for payments made thereafter through Oct. 31. No in-person payments will be accepted at either the Groton Central School offices or TST BOCES. Taxes not paid by Oct. 31 must be returned to the county treasurer for collection.

Author visit & GPL Book Club

Author Barb Warner Deane will be at the Groton Public Library at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19 for a reading of her book, “Killing Her Softly.” This will be followed at 7 p.m. by the GPL Book Club for more discussion. The library has some copies available to check out. For more information on how to join the club or to ask questions, email director@grotonpubliclibrary.org.