It attracts a lot of people to town, and officials are already working on ways to keep people coming to the village after the Elora Mill Inn closed at the end of October.
Centre Wellington Economic Development Manager Dave Rushton said the mill held a staff party at the end of last month, but had not taken any bookings beyond that.
The mill, owned by Tuesday Equities and Prince Royal Limited Partnership, a Calgary based company, went into receivership earlier this year.
Rushton said The Landmark Group’s subsidiary, Pearle Hospitality, has reached a deal to buy the mill. Deloitte & Touche Inc. is the receiver in the proceedings.
Rushton said the new owners also own the Ancaster Mill, Spencers in Burlington and the Cambridge Mill. That last one is also undergoing major renovations before re-opening.
Rushton said he estimates it could take a year to 18 months before the Elora landmark reopens, but he suspects when it does, it will be spectacular. He said he checked with his counterparts in other communities and heard Pearle Hospitality does an excellent job with its properties.
The Elora Mill Inn has had a checkered history since it was turned into a hospitality resource, after being used for years as a grist mill. While, “individuals have come through and made an effort” others have treated it as a simple investment.
“Some [owners] have had no interest in the local community,” Rushton said, adding one owner was reputed to have visited the place once in the seven years he owned it.
“There was not a passion for operating it,” he said.
Consequently, Rushton said, “It needs work from the roof down.”
He as heard the new owners might spend as much as $1.5-million before it re-opens.
Rushton added he hopes new ownership will bring more community involvement.
He noted The Landmark Group is owned by siblings Aaron, James and Leanne Ciancone, and they focus on such things as wedding and community events.
Rushton said at one point, the best view of the Tooth of Time in the Grand River had been blocked to the public for nearly five years and was only recently made accessible.
He added he and Elora Fergus Tourism’s Deb Dalziel will be meeting with the Ciancone family this week to discuss ways to keep people coming to the community even though the mill will be unavailable. They hope to be able to offer other accommodations on the website and brochures to keep attracting people to Elora.
They also hope to be able to offer such things as conference and banquet facilities until the re-opening.
With the Mill gone for at least a year, retailers in the downtown acknowledged things might be tough in the short term.
“It’ll probably be slow for about a year,” the Business Improvement Area’s Marty Van Vliet said in an interview.
But, he added, there is a silver lining. He said of the work to be done at the Mill, “It’s needed it for a long time.”
He, too, had the impression a number of owners were simply milking the business for its cash without reinvesting. But, he said, he is impressed by what he hears about Landmark and the way it runs its properties.
“The people who bought it, I’m hoping these people are interested in the community,” Van Vliet said.
He said from what he has heard about the other properties the company owns, that is the case. “I hope there is a net benefit” down the road.
The Elora Mill’s phone is still connected, but no-one was answering it early this week.
