Hotel Saxonburg to be sold to Sarver duo, will remain open
Judy Ferree, owner of the historic Hotel Saxonburg, confirmed Friday that she has agreed to sell the nearly 200-year-old business to Lee Uncapher and Annette Gervais of Sarver.
Ferree said that not only would the business remain open after the transaction closes, but that staff members would keep their jobs. She did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction.
“I look forward to working with the community,” Uncapher said Friday. “We want to work to build upon the great work that Judy has already done here.”
“We're very excited to be the new owners of such a historic building,” Gervais said. “We plan on having an honored tradition with a modern menu.”
Uncapher and Gervais shared some details on what changes customers can expect when they officially take over the business. While they don’t intend to rock the boat, they do have plans to “modernize” the menu and make some cosmetic renovations to the building.
“We've got some plans in the works, and we can share them more when we finalize the transaction,” Uncapher said.
Hotel Saxonburg, as part of the Saxonburg Historic District, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. The business has been open continuously since 1832, and serves as both a hotel and a restaurant, which serves liquor.
The hotel portion of the building contains six rooms, all of which are decorated to bring guests back to the late 1800s.
Gervais has experience in restaurant management, as she once owned and operated a bed-and-breakfast a block away from a racetrack in Lexington, Ky. At one point during Gervais’ stewardship, she said her establishment hosted at least one member of an Arab royal family.
Ferree first put the Hotel Saxonburg up for sale in June 2022 with an initial asking price of $1.2 million, which included the building’s liquor license. She purchased the Saxonburg Hotel in 2010 from Carolyn Gentile, who had been the owner for 52 years prior to the sale.
“I’ve been around the restaurant business all my life, and I just wanted to get in for myself,” said Ferree.
Shortly after Ferree took over the Hotel Saxonburg in July 2010, she pumped $60,000 into renovating the building, bringing in a new chef, and almost completely redoing the menu.
Her changes paid dividends. According to Ferree, by 2022, sales tripled from the time she took over. While other small businesses struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic, the Hotel Saxonburg recorded its most profitable year under Ferree’s ownership in 2021.
Ultimately, after 13 successful years of ownership, Ferree opted to sell the business and retire.
“I’m 63. It’s time to retire,” Ferree said.
While the two sides have agreed to the sale, it hasn’t officially closed. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has to approve the transfer of the license. However, Ferree expects that it will go through by early September.
“We don’t have a date, because we’re waiting on the liquor board, and they don’t give you a date,” Ferree said.
