Vicky “Frances” Faust says she moved from Pennsylvania (after receiving an MBA in Economics - and an MBA and MPA) to Austin in 1983 and opened her first business – a snow cone truck – and she never looked back. She went to UT, studied accounting and in 1990 sat for all four parts of the CPA at the same time (which is virtually unheard of) – and she passed. In 1993 she started a full-service accounting firm in a 1963 Airstream called the TaxTrailer where she served over 1000 clients. She’s continued to do annual taxes for some clients and also delved into flipping real estate and co-owned the Kimber Modern Hotel in SoCo and Driftwood, a substance abuse and pain recovery center. Currently, her only properties are The Frances Modern Inn, which opened January 2022 (originally under the name The Cat Noir), and houses Krystal Craig and Ian Thurwacher's popular restaurant Poeta as well as gelato truck Piccolo, and the home she shares with her wife Lissa Patrizi and her 2-year-old dog Bailey, who can frequently be found at The Frances Modern.
“He’s just a love bucket!” Vicki says, “He’s part of the spreading the love mission, he just does it so naturally and so many people are so comforted by him and with him.” She credits her 'spiritually gifted daughter' Kenna Chris, who currently lives in Bali, and her wife with opening the spirituality door for her and clarifying the Inn's love mission, that she hopes is felt by each person who visits.
The name of the inn was inspired by Vicki’s paternal grandmother. “She was the kindest, most loving, modest woman I ever met,” Vicki says. “She taught me by example how to really listen and always made me feel like the most important person in the room.”
Like with the name, Vicki says her vision for the hotel was to “bring in some old” and mix it with the new modern building. She explains, “I like the mix of old and new both architecturally and emotionally and spiritually. I think there’s a lot of the past that we can bring into the present to make the future better, so I’ve tried to create a place that is very cozy, giving people comfort I think they need, especially right now. I’ve realized more and more that we have a tremendous platform to spread love and kindness and make people feel welcome and cared for in a very uncertain, uncaring world.”
In the redesign of the hotel she says, “I wanted it saturated with color and décor. Kim Lewis Design did a fantastic job and bringing my vision to life.” And, you can often find her eating downstairs in Poeta where she says, “I’m in love with one of their lesser-known dishes, the liver mousse appetizer. I pair it with the grilled Caesar. I eat pretty light and it’s perfect!”
As for the next chapter, Vicki says, “I maintain a small tax practice - mostly family and friends and some clients that I’ve had for 30 years and who I can’t abandon now. I will probably keep that going. I think retirement for me will still be working a little bit of tax and a little bit at the inn, but more cherry-picking.”