Meet the restaurant owners who lead with their values
We all want to live life on our own terms. Chef Jeffrey Fournier and his wife, Kate, are lucky enough to do it.
The former owners of the beloved Thompson House Eatery in Jackson, New Hampshire, have built their reputation on creating warm, inviting spaces that welcome guests as family.
Led by their shared values, the couple has crafted careers filled with authenticity and intention.
Thompson House Eatery – a cozy farmhouse nestled in the White Mountains – wasn’t just the couple’s restaurant. It was, quite literally, the home where they raised their two children. “We got to really authentically have all of our diners be guests in our home,” Kate says.
Visitors might see one of the kids run into the dining room to brag about a new skateboard trick, or chat with Kate as she flits between the house, the restaurant and the farm on the premises.
Jeff’s original take on traditional American fare, heavy on locally sourced ingredients, brought guests in, but the culture of Thompson House is what kept them coming back.
“Warmth and connectivity are really what we strive for, because over the last eight years warmth and connectivity have just eroded kind of further, culturally, for all of us,” Kate says. “So finding those glimmers was something that we wanted to really put forward.”
The connectivity is as simple as eye contact or a genuine “How are you?” – and extends throughout the meal. “Every single step of service matters and every bit of engagement,” Kate says.
Adds Jeff, “All of our stuff is about intention and trying to be kind and also get the right outcomes, whether it's food or hospitality or whatever.”
Thompson House quickly amassed a following of locals and seasonal visitors, largely through word of mouth, with help from social media. Partnerships with area farms and vendors enmeshed them into the community even further.
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“Every single step of service matters and every bit of engagement.”
During the pandemic, guests (“I really made a conscious choice to not use the word customer” says Jeff) kept the business afloat with their generosity. And when the Fourniers announced last fall that they’d be closing for good, they were overwhelmed with love and support from their community.
“I was like, you know, we're dripping in human goodness and our wealth is beyond measure,” Kate says. “I know that like the ripples that went out of this place and improved lives and were meaningful and made impact are kind of limitless at this point.”
The word that guides the couple in their business endeavors is “humanity” – which extends from how they treat their guests to how they hire, train and retain staff.
At the Fourniers’ restaurants, the couple carefully interviews potential staff members, ensuring they’re a good fit for the team. “Creating a team where you really, genuinely enjoy every person on it is a hard measure, but somehow with the approach that we've had, we kind of nail it,” Kate says.
Jeff, especially, wanted to create a culture different from his own experiences in the Army as well as the “aggressive” kitchens he worked at early in his career. “We want everyone to kind of mesh as a team and empower each other,” Jeff says.
Their aim is a unique workplace where mental health is prioritized, wages are fair and co-workers truly do feel like family.
“It’s really about finding all that goodness and having people connect in the experience so that whether you're cooking or dining or whatever, or serving or tending bar, you should be enjoying your life, because you did choose to be there,” he says.
After closing Thompson House in late 2024, the family relocated to Boston, where Jeff has been working as a restaurant consultant while the couple plans their next move in the city’s bustling food scene.
Though they miss their close-knit community in Jackson, they look forward to the freedom of a more traditional restaurant environment, along with more time for art (Jeff’s first passion), family and collaboration.
“All that we've learned in the last eight years of creating this culture and building this environment,” Kate says, “we get to transform it into a city atmosphere and bring that human goodness and connection and everything with us.”
