November 5, 2010. Artemas, Pa. The Union Hotel.

For almost forty years I have driven by this old hotel in Everitt. 'Rooms For Rent' in neon letters were in the window, with a bar on the first floor. It was old and run down, but not anymore. It is elegent.

Everett is a town that used to bustle but while Bedford, just thirty miles along highway 30, has gotten trendy Everett has stayed the same. The downtown has always been busy but it always looked the same today as it did thirty five years ago. Until now. This old hotel was purchased by two local young men, owners of a stone quarry just outside town. They were both born and raised in Everett and after college returned to their family business and settled down with their wife and children. They purchased the old hotel and with their own stone and their own workers hoped to renovate one floor at a time, hoping to spend no more than one million at a time.

Somewhere in the midst of the renovation, they decided, for practical purposes, to complete all floors and ended up spending just under three million. It opened for business one year ago. It is beautiful. The old tin ceiling has been restored, also the marble floors and the mouldings. The hotel was built in the early part of the nineteenth century. Once it was posh then sunk into the depths but now it is elegant once again. Now it again is a treasure.

Today we ate lunch in the lovely dining room. The food was excellent. This is the first sign of a resurgence in Everett. I hope it continues to prosper and to keep their good chef.