After being closed for over nine months due to a collapsed roof, Bayfield's historic Albion Hotel is ready to reopen next week.
To mark the occasion, owners Jeff and Leigh Graham have a celebration planned for this Saturday.
Graham said it's taken a lot of time and support from the community to reach this point and they're nearly ready to get going.
"It's pretty unreal, we're very excited over here," said Jeff. "But now we're kind of finding all those little things that still need to be done that we kind of overlooked because we were so busy in the construction phase that we almost forgot about the business side of things... it's a lot of emotions and a lot of excitement."
It's understandable why they were so wrapped up in rebuilding, there was extensive work needed to get the building back in order. There was a new truss roof put on, all the brick in the upper portion of the building was replaced, the upstairs interior was basically gutted and the dining room floor was also redone.
Graham says the renovations preserved the historical accuracy of the building, while also upgrading areas that needed it.
"The exterior is the same. The interior looks a lot like it did before, we tried to keep that true, but all the bones, wiring and everything, is all new... We left the layout the same because we didn't want anyone getting confused," he joked.
Graham thanked all the local businesses that contributed: Bayfield Contracting, Van Wyk Electric, Coleson-Forbes Construction, KRC Construction, Snell Plumbing and Twin Oaks Masonry, many of which reached out to him and offered to help rebuild.
After the long lay off, Graham said most of their staff will be back too.
"We did lose a few key staff members, we were closed for just over nine months and it makes it hard for people to wait that long. They got other opportunities and we're very happy for them... but we have a bunch of people that waited and they want to come back to work for us," he said. "We did put a hiring ad out too and we had a lot of resumes flood the door. People are anxious to get back working at the hotel."
They won't have to wait much longer, as the Grand Reopening Party will be held September 27 starting at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free and there will be a street party in front of the hotel featuring live music performances by local acts like Chevette and Lake Effect. There will be tours of the remade hotel, along with a limited menu and drinks.
The Albion Hotel will return to normal hours on Monday, and Graham says room reservations will restart after Thanksgiving.
