Press Coverage
Press Coverage from The Cedar Rapids Gazette- Bed and Breakfast
Thistle’s Summit Lives On in Des Moines by Elijah Decious 12.2.21
LGBTQ cooking, travel shows film pilot episodes in Cedar Rapids by Elijah Decious 4.30.21
Beacon for LGBTQ community, Thistle’s Summit in Mount Vernon closes by Elijah Decious 4.22.21
Mount Vernon B&B offers free LBGTQ elopements by Grace King 10.22.20
The kinds of gatherings that B&Bs foster go beyond just icebreakers and small talk. There is also a unique opportunity to connect on a deeper level—which is something that’s especially important to Payseur and Bruxvoort.
The couple opened Thistle’s Summit to create a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community, knowing firsthand the discomfort, and sometimes danger, they can face while traveling. Since opening, they’ve had chats with guests about everything from the Iowa caucuses to what it’s like being gay in the Midwest.
“We wanted to be able to show people that we are not as divided as we feel, and that we can heal some of these divides through honest conversation and honest food,” Payseur says. “Community happens when folks can feel like the space was designed for them, that they are welcome, and that they are not just a guest but worthy of our time, attention, and care.”
The Cedar Rapids Gazette
MOUNT VERNON — Thistle’s Summit, 812 Summit Ave. SW, unexpectedly opened three weeks early.
Owners and partners Marti Payseur and Ash Bruxvoort intended to open their bed-and-breakfast — the first in the area designed for the LGBTQ+ community — on Aug. 22. After Kae Apothecary, 100 First St. W, listed Thistle’s Summit to their clients, the B&B began receiving a “wild” number of bookings and had to open Aug. 1.
“It’s good because we just had to jump in and do it,” Bruxvoort said.
She added that they originally aimed to have three bookings a month. Instead, they had three bookings within a week and have guests from across the country slated to stay well into 2020.
“We’re going to be more busy than we thought,” Payseur said with a laugh.