Your Hosts, the Graf Family
Owners and Innkeepers

The Graf family moved their household from Salt Lake City, Utah to Danbury New Hampshire in July of 2002 to become innkeepers.

Bob was born and raised in New Jersey. He rode his bicycle from Paris to Cape Town with his brother Curt from 1973 to 1975. They ended up in New Zealand where they learned how to teach skiing.

Bob went to College in Colorado and stayed out west. Bob is a general contractor by trade (20 years) and also was a ski instructor in Park City, Utah for 14 years. He met his wife Alex in a beginner ski class February, 1986.

Alex was born and raised in The Haque, The Netherlands. She speaks Dutch, French, German and English. She grew up in a hospitality environment in The Haque. She always loved the United States and immigrated in 1979. Alex was a Flight Attendant for American Airlines before retiring to being a "full time" mom. Alex became Mrs. Salt Lake City in 2001, in time to enjoy all the activities of the 2002 Olympics where she was a volunteer for the Dutch Team.

The Grafs have 4 children, Chelsea 18, Meagan 14, Zacchaeus 12 and Daphne 10. The whole Graf family is involved in the inn-keeping business and you will be sure to meet them all during your stay.

Read about the Graf family trip to Austria written for Heart of New Hampshire Magazine by our own Alexandra Graf.


L to R Meagan 16, Chelsea 19, Alex 47, Daphne 11, Bob 56, Zacchaeus 14

Bob and Alexandra Graf

Read about it here!

Alexandra Graf, co-owner of the Inn at Danbury and Alphorn Bistro in Danbury, New Hampshire, is among 31 nominees for the 2007 American Dream Award sponsored by the National Restaurant Association. She is the only restaurant owner from New Hampshire to be nominated. Judges will choose one individual winner in early March and the honoree will be recognized in ceremonies at the organization's annual Restaurant Show May 19 to 22 in Chicago.

This award is part of the association's Faces of Diversity program. "The American Dream Award will honor an individual, from a diverse background who, through hard work and determination, has realized the American dream," said Association President and Chief Executive Officer Steven C. Anderson. “Our industry is full of success stories, enabling millions to live the American dream.”

Graf was nominated for the award because of the interesting path she took to becoming an innkeeper and restaurant owner in New Hampshire. Born in the Netherlands, she first came to the United States as an exchange student in 1977 and fell in love with the country. Two years later, she married an American and was able to immigrate to the U.S. However, her immigrant status was in doubt for a time, as a background check showed her father had briefly lost his Dutch nationality when jailed as a “traitor.” In truth, he had been captured by the Germans during World War II. As a Jewish member of the Dutch armed forces, he was forced to work for the enemy or face a trip to the concentration camps.

With Graf's immigrant status eventually approved, she held various jobs in the hospitality industry at a Howard Johnson's and the Indianapolis Airport Hilton, and then became an American Airlines flight attendant, a position she gave up to become a full-time mother. In 1988, she realized she needed to become an American citizen, after giving premature birth to her first daughter. She took her oath of citizenship in Salt Lake City, Utah.

When she and her husband, Bob, decided to move from Utah to New Hampshire to open a country inn and restaurant five years ago, she did not know how to run either one, but says, "The university of hard knocks pays great dividends."

Today, her Inn at Danbury and Alphorn Bistro, where her husband is the chef, is an award-wining inn and German restaurant. It has been active in the community and is a frequent contributor to the March of Dimes, the Easter Seals and other charities. In partnership with the Inn at Pleasant Lake, she used her talents to raise $25,000 for Hurricane Katrina victims in 2005. In 2006, the Grafs raised $7,500 for their neighbor’s son who was an accident victim. It was just the amount the family needed to purchase a handicapped van. The Graf’s where most recently involved in a New Hampshire Food Bank event. The Graf's four children, now ages 10 through 18, help in the restaurant and inn and love to be part of the crew at these community events.