Extensive gardens, new windows, solar panels, pianos and an English tea room among scheduled updates to historic bed and breakfast
| For the Erie Times-News
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NORTH EAST — You might not see any changes outside at Grape Arbor Bed and Breakfast, but embellishments are on the way at the well-known B&B.
The inn’s two buildings, known as the Bester Town House, 51 E. Main St., and the Hampson House, 55 E. Main St., include common areas and eight guest rooms with names that feature varieties of wine throughout more than 11,000 square feet.
Former owner Peggy Hauser made the inn a popular tourist destination with her elegant interior design and scrumptious foods. Hauser put the inn up for sale in 2019 for $399,900, and Jeff Garverick bought the two buildings in a sale that was finalized at the end of January.
What Hauser started, the new owner will continue, according to new innkeeper Liz Gullbergh.
“I trained with Peggy Hauser for two years as an assistant innkeeper,” Gullbergh said. “She is a pastry chef and was responsible for the brand, the decor and all the recipes. She owned this inn for 18 years, and she trained me really well.”
The purchase wasn’t part of a long-term plan, Garverick said. “I did it on a lark,” he said. Garverick explained that he had lived in Buffalo and traveled to care for his dad in Ohio.
He often passed through North East and felt it might make a nice retirement area because it was much closer to Ohio than Buffalo.
While he looked for a potential home with his real estate agent Paul Nick, of Coldwell Banker Select Realtors, he spotted the Grape Arbor Bed and Breakfast for sale and asked his Realtor about it as an investment, not as a personal residence.
After a tour of the B&B, he purchased it and a home on Delaware Avenue in North East. Then he hired Gullbergh to run the B&B as innkeeper.
More: 2 bed-and-breakfasts for sale in Erie region
What’s coming
Some interesting things are in the works. Extensive gardens will be visible at some point because Garverick is a botany hobbyist.
“We’ll see what’s here this summer,” he said. “We also plan to replace all the windows, the furnace and install solar panels, so this might be the greenest building in the area.”
The plan also includes an English tea room, and Garverick is shopping for a player piano and a regular piano to bring music into the Grape Arbor Bed and Breakfast.
Gullbergh, a culinary graduate of Scottsdale Culinary Institute in 1998, has been in food service since graduation. Her resume includes service as a profession chef, a personal chef and a caterer. She’s held various positions in restaurants in Arizona, Virginia and New Jersey.
One thing that will remain the same is the food. Gullbergh, a mom, stepmom and grandmother, offered a sampling of the breakfast treats on one Wednesday morning. The homemade maple-glazed spice doughnuts (baked, not fried), blueberry-gingerbread coffee cake and locally sourced freshly ground coffee are among guest favorites along with a variety of recipes on the inn website, grapearborbandb.com.
More: Erie couples nestle in with B&B businesses
History
The two buildings at the B&B were originally built for a family that had 13 children, and were completed in the 1830s. A third building east of 55 E. Main St. was at one time part of the property, but it was sold to other owners years ago.
According to the website, the Bester Town House at 51 E. Main St. has been a residence, tavern, stagecoach stop, kindergarten, senior citizen home and restaurant. The website also said the Hampson House was owned by one family and later purchased by an insurance company.
On a tour, Gullbergh pointed out original woodwork. She said crown molding, fireplaces and some of the cabinetry were all original to the home, which is decorated with antique furniture.
If you park behind the Bester Town House, you’ll pass under an arbor and see a welcome sign (a pineapple) with the date of the construction as 1832.
If you enter from the front, you’ll spot an antique mailbox as you go into the roomy foyer. The front rooms include a parlor on the west side of the foyer and a library on the east side. French doors enter the parlor, which features blue wall coverings, gleaming wide-plank hardwood floors and a fireplace. Delft-style pottery pieces add accents to this and several rooms.
Across the hall, a French door opens to the library where guests can choose from a variety of reading materials, videos and games. Its fireplace mantel features a large train engine and vintage tricycle.
The dining room is open to the parlor, and its fireplace is ensconced in built-in cabinetry. A swinging door enters the kitchen, and this private part of the home will soon get a makeover, Gullbergh said.
The first floor’s back hallway connects to a bright sunroom that looks out on the property. It also opens to the Isabella Room, the only guest room on the first floor.
A beautiful curved staircase leads up to the Niagara Room, the Concord Room and the Steuben Suite, which includes several rooms. The innkeeper’s apartment is also on this second floor.
The Hampson House, built in 1835 at 55 E Main St., has a spacious front porch and columns. It also features a curved staircase in the hall but does not include a parlor or other common areas. There are two guest suites on the first floor and two more on the second floor.
On the first floor, a private side porch enters the Cabernet Suite, which features a corner fireplace and private parlor. The Chancellor Suite boasts plenty of Victorian charm with a marble fireplace in the bedroom and a fireplace reproduction in the parlor.
On the second floor, Colonial Williamsburg decor highlights the Riesling Suite, and the Merlot Suite offers plenty of antiques and a wall of windows in its roomy parlor.
Regional appeal
Bookings have been pretty healthy for the B&B. It was booked solid for Valentine’s Day and a few weekends in February. It’s also popular for regular customers who return every year and for regional folks who just want a weekend getaway in their own backyard.
Room rates are $100 to $200 per night, and if you visit, you’ll meet Gullbergh’s senior rescue dog, Oliver.
The goal for the future?
“We want to make sure this is a marvelous staycation,” Gullbergh said.
Pam Parker is a freelance writer living in Fairview. Contact her at pamparker712@gmail.com.
More: How is an Airbnb different from a B&B? Which is better for your vacation?
More online
See more photos and video of the historic inn: www.GoErie.com
The Link LonkFebruary 27, 2021 at 05:04PM
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New owner has big plans for Grape Arbor Bed and Breakfast in North East, Pennsylvania - GoErie.com
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