Sidney Inn prepares to welcome guests for first time in years

Starting Friday, the Sidney Inn will be back in business for the first time in years.

“We want to show everyone what we’ve done," Sidney Inn manager Hard Sabhaya said. "We wanted to make sure everything was perfect before we started putting ourselves out there.”

Six months ago, the Sabhaya family bought the Fort Sidney Inn, a hotel that at the time was run down and essentially abandoned.

After months of hard work, they’re ready to reopen.

“It looks beautiful," Sabhaya said. "The place is amazing and the people are just wonderful so we’re ready to serve them.”

The building is almost unrecognizable from its former state. New paint, flooring and furniture are just the top of the list. Plumbing and electrical work has also been redone to restore the old hotel. It wasn’t always easy though.

“At times it was definitely difficult and  it was like ‘Why are we doing this?’ There were times we had to sit down and say ‘Is this worth it?,’" Sabhaya said.

Looking back, Sabhaya says that answer is yes.

It all became official when they received their building permit late last week.

“That moment was like, and I don’t know if i can say this, but it was pure ecstasy," he said. "Everyone was ecstatic, they were happy and it felt like the stress from our shoulders had been relieved.”

There’s still plenty of work to do. The family still hopes to turn the old restaurant into a convenience store. About 20 of the building’s nearly 50 rooms remain unfinished, but the Sabhayas are excited to get business started. They also hope to eventually have a grand opening and ribbon cutting, which has been temporarily put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

See our previous story about the Fort Sidney Inn here.