ANDOVER — The new operators of the Andover Inn recently held a reception to commemorate the resolution of problems that led to the loss of its liquor license and show people the 100-seat eatery and 23-room inn at Phillips Academy are back in business.

Last Tuesday, Alison Sudalter-Morello and her husband, Matthew Morello, who formerly ran the popular Savour at Park Street Village, hosted dozens of local business and school officials at an event sponsored by the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce to officially open the Andover Inn, Brasserie.

Manager James Flynn said the business went through some tough times over the last year or so, including a weeklong closing during a transition period from a previous manager to the Morellos.

It had been run for 30 years by Henry Broekhoff, who retired in 2005.

At that time, Phillips Academy signed a lease with Oates & Bredfeldt, a restaurant management company from Vermont. Problems soon surfaced after the company took over in 2006, when the restaurant was cited by the town for health violations.

Eventually, ongoing disputes between Oates & Bredfeldt and Phillips led to the school suing the company for $185,000 in back rent. Phillips signed Morello Hospitality Group to take over the business, but soon learned that Oates & Bredfeldt hadn't transferred the liquor license to the Morellos.

Months of delays meant that while the Andover Inn, Brasserie was able to serve food, it could not serve alcohol for about three months. The restaurant recently received its liquor license, and on Tuesday night offered wine with appetizers to the assembled guests.

While the restaurant was considered a fairly fancy eatery under Broekhoff, it has a more relaxed atmosphere under the Morellos.

"The staff wears denim now instead of tuxedos," Flynn said. "It's more open, relaxed and inviting, and the price points of the meals are reasonable."

He added, "We've got a new menu, a new dining room and a new parking lot." The parking lot had been ripped up during the summer.

The building that the inn and restaurant occupy was originally built as a dormitory in the 1930s, but was converted to an inn in the 1950s, Flynn said.

The name Andover Inn is the original name of the establishment. Brasserie was added, according to Morello, because it is a French word used to describe restaurants popular many years ago in neighborhoods of France, where people would meet to eat and drink.

— Staff writer Judy Wakefield contributed to this report.