Lucie Monk Carter
Jim Johnston and Brandon Branch, new owners of the St. Francisville Inn.
One of the stars of Southern Charm Savannah on Bravo, Brandon Branch has gamely displayed his love for prosecco pong (replace the solo cups and light beer with crystal goblets and fine bubbly), relationship advice, and briskly whipped bon mots among a crowd of lithe, often loafing, Savannah socialites. And while cameras have a way of adding ten pounds of drama to any situation, you can’t credit clever editing for Branch’s killer interior design sense or his never-dulled delight at having houseguests. These two qualities are at the tip-top of his new venture, as he and husband Jim Johnston have moved west to St. Francisville and renovated the ten-room Victorian-style St. Francisville Inn. The couple may plan to cater mostly to tourists—outside of The Saint Bar (formerly the Wine Parlor) whose whorled slate blue walls and velvet cushions beckon one and all for a nightcap—but they’re happy citizens too. “I love it here,” shrugs Branch, and he imagines his new guests will feel the same.
Lucie Monk Carter
The confidence that tourists will come to St. Francisville and cry when they leave is the starting engine of the magazine you’re currently reading, but Branch had a few more reasons for making the move. For starters, his parents still live in his hometown, little Franklinton, Louisiana, just under two hours away. Teenaged Branch couldn’t wait to shake small-town dust from his soles—and he did, spending fourteen years as Paula Deen’s assistant and creative director while doing his own design work for celebrities like Trisha Yearwood—but as an adult, he’s discovered the allure of being close to family and living in his own nestled community. He and Johnston chose their new town after an exploratory visit that resulted in party invitations and quickly forged friendships. (A similarity to their former town didn’t hurt, as told in this story: There's a little Savannah in St. Francisville.) They moved in October 2018. Since early January, construction on the inn has been in full swing, but the front parlors and dining room were first in line for opulent yet whimsical makeovers, and they’ve been open all year for public occasions as a thrilling glimpse at what’s to come from the other wings. Whether dove’s egg, slate, cobalt, or indigo, blue is a running theme in each room on display, heralding the peaceable but lordly entrance into town the St. Francisville Inn is making.
Lucie Monk Carter
The grand re-opening coincides with the April edition of the Country Roads Supper Club, which, suffice to say, sold out two months before dinnertime—but cameras will be rolling for the pilot episode of Branch and Johnston’s new show, which promises an unfiltered look into the couple’s St. Francisville life. Still, there’s closer vantages than the HDTV at home. Grab a drink at The Saint any time and a key to your own stately digs at The Inn when nothing else will do but a whisk to the blue heavens above.
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