With COVID-19 keeping many travelers at home, Bloomington’s Grant Street Inn remains apprehensive about its future. Despite few to no in-person IU events, the inn is scheduled to reopen on May 1, to accommodate the families visiting for the commencement ceremonies.
Paul Wagoner, Grant Street Inn’s Hospitality Manager, tries to stay hopeful, but he has to focus on the inn’s survival.
“I want to say that the future looks bright and we’ll be sitting here another twenty years from now,” Wagoner said. “But there were serious conversations about shutting the inn down.”
The novel coronavirus first shut the inn down on March 19 due to increasing health and safety concerns across the United States. They reopened in July in hopes of welcoming back domestic travelers as IU’s fall semester approached.
Hospitality Manager, Paul Wagoner, reflects on the inn’s historic past and its uncertain future.
With increasing urbanization and infrastructure development in Bloomington, Wagoner says it’s difficult for their 40-room occupancy to compete with hotels in the area that have hundreds of rooms.
“I’m thinking there is a possibility that we’re living on borrowed time,” Wagoner said. “But we’re going to keep the inn going as long as we can support it and support our staff.”
This May marks the 30th anniversary of the Grant Street Inn’s initial opening date back in 1991.
Although a small business, the inn has a rich history.
In 1990, Bloomington Restorations approached Bill and Gayle Cook, founders of Cook Medical and CFC Properties, about the potential demolition of the then Ziegler House. Located behind the First Presbyterian Church, the Cook family bought the house and moved it a few blocks down to its current location on N. Grant St.
Wagoner has celebrated several milestones with the inn. Embarking on his 18th year as Hospitality Manager, he hopes that the fall semester and lessening of COVID-19 restrictions will bring in more reservations and help the business stay afloat.
Despite IU’s 2021 Commencement Ceremonies occurring virtually, many families are still planning to come to Bloomington to celebrate. The Big Ten plans to carry out the fall football season in-person, which should also positively affect occupancy.
Marketing Specialist, Rebecca Ellison, shares her anticipation for the inn’s reopening with life beginning to look normal again.
With millions of Americans getting the COVID-19 vaccine over the past several months, Rebecca Ellison, Marketing Specialist for CFC Properties, believes the desire to visit Bloomington will increase.
“It’s nice to be able to share those things,” Ellison said. “And hopefully, that allows us to connect better with people in the community, as well as nationally and perhaps even somewhat globally because of our IU connections.”
The Grant Street Inn’s long-term future may be in question, but the house did withstand another pandemic: the Spanish flu a hundred years ago.
