New Italian Riviera-Inspired Restaurant, Nines, Buys Gaskins in Germantown

Avery Jannelli and Ryan McLaughlin stand in front of what will soon be their new restaurant Nines, with friends and former owners of Gaskins Sarah and Nick Suarez, with their son Milo. Photo by Michelle Heimerman. 

Gaskins, the much-loved Germantown restaurant founded by Nick and Sarah Suarez, was sold on Thursday, December 18, to restaurant veterans, and friends, Ryan McLaughlin and Avery Jannelli, who plan to open a classy-casual concept in the space this spring called Nines. The announcement ends months of speculation and rumor, and replaces them with a plan they hope will excite the Gaskins faithful.

For the Suarezes, the sale marks a real emotional moment. “We are feeling excited to pass the torch to Ryan and Avery. We couldn’t have dreamed of better stewards to continue the legacy of Gaskins,” Sarah Suarez says. “While there is certainly a bit of grief in saying goodbye to something that was such a huge part of our lives, we ultimately feel very relieved to see life breathed back into 2 Church Avenue.”

That word "relieved" will also no doubt ring in the ears of diners too. Gaskins wasn’t sold to the highest bidder or flipped into something unrecognizable. The Suarezes were explicit about wanting buyers who understood what the place meant. “We hoped we’d find like-minded folks who wanted to put down roots in Germantown,” Suarez says. “And we certainly found them.”

Both McLaughlin and Jannelli arrive at Nines with long, complementary resumes that explain why the handoff feels so easy. McLaughlin is a familiar figure in the Hudson Valley food world, having cooked in New York City in the early 2000s before settling in the region, where he once co-owned and operated Daughters Fare & Ale in Red Hook, a small, beloved restaurant known for its house-made sausages, thoughtful sourcing, and confident cooking. After Daughters closed he cooked at Gedney Kitchen in New Marlborough. He then moved to Philadelphia, helping launch the kitchen program at Other Half Brewing before returning to the Hudson Valley, most recently working at Mirador in Kingston. 

Jannelli brings a different but important background to the project. She spent 18 years in Philadelphia working for High Street Hospitality Group, the restaurant company led by Ellen Yin, where she rose from general manager to director of special projects, overseeing openings, closings, service systems, and special events across the group’s portfolio. “That job was really great. It prepared me for anything,” she says. 

There’s also a long thread of history at Gaskins for McLaughlin, a friend of the Suarezes since the beginning. “There is so much kismet in how things unfolded,” Sarah Suarez says. “Ryan made sausages for Gaskins in the early days, was a pinch hitter in the kitchen, and we were huge fans of his spot Daughters. So, we couldn’t be more confident in handing over the reins to them.”

Kismet

McLaughlin and Jannelli, for their part, weren’t hunting for a restaurant. They had moved back to the Hudson Valley after meeting in Philadelphia, with a vague, long-range plan: re-establish, get their bearings, and maybe open something in a few years. Then Gaskins announced it was closing.

“When they said they were selling, it shocked me. like it shocked everyone else who’s food-adjacent up here,” McLaughlin says. He reached out to check in, not to make an offer. “I didn’t think there was any feasible way to open a restaurant in 2025.”

And yet: 15 months, an SBA loan, countless inspections, a government shutdown, and a lot of persistence later, the deal closed. “We just kept saying, we’ll keep trying until someone tells us to stop,” Jannelli says. “And no one ever did.”

The result is Nines, a restaurant that intends to build on the sense of hospitality still reverberating in the building, while not trying to be Gaskins 2.0. “It’s not ‘to the nines,’” McLaughlin says, preempting assumptions. “It’s not luxury. It’s not glam. It’s functional.”

The name nods to the region’s many Route Nines (9, 9G, 9H, 9W, 9J), to the number’s use as a placeholder, and (with regards to the restaurant’s new logo) it’s resemblance to a comma—signaling a pause, a rest, a moment to breath. 

Cibo Bella

Food-wise, the shorthand is Italian, but as inspiration not dogma. “Italian Riviera, French Riviera. Lots of vegetables, lots of fish, lots of olive oil,” McLaughlin says. The wood-fired oven stays. The food will be “unfussy,” approachable, and built to serve a wide range of guests, in the bright dining room and cozy bar.

“The idea is pleasing a lot of people,” McLaughlin says. “families, couples, big tables, people who just want to get out of their day and eat something good.”

Like Gaskins, Nines will be shaped by its surroundings without leaning on slogans. “We’re not a farm-to-table restaurant—that’s not part of the thing,” McLaughlin says. “But we’ll be using as many farm friends as we can, because that’s what we want to use.”

Before the restaurant even opens, the new owners have already begun showing up in town. They volunteered to cook turkeys for Germantown’s free Thanksgiving meal, joined a local committee, and helped host a holiday toy exchange. “The first few ways they’ve engaged with the community before even becoming official owners has been beautiful to see,” says Sarah Suarez who’s remained deeply entrenched in the local community. “That care and intention—that was the heart and soul of Gaskins. And I already see them weaving the same thing into their business.”

And the Suarezes aren’t going anywhere either. Nick now works in sales and marketing for Tivoli Mushrooms and Sarah continues her work as a Germantown Town Board member, heads the Park Commission, and supports a local mutual-aid project. “No plans for a new food project,” she says. “Just more family time and travel.”

Asked what gives her the most confidence in what’s coming next, Suarez doesn’t overthink it. “Ryan knows how to make food that tastes really good, is nourishing and satisfying,” she says. “It’s really that simple.”