By David Fenker
david@nmpaper.com
NORTH MANCHESTER — The Treeway Inn will soon be reopening under a new name, says the new owner of the business.
William “K.C.” Crook, a Manchester High School Class of 1977 graduate and Kentucky resident, said that he and his wife closed on the business on March 6, and intend to reopen within the next two months.
“We’re calling it the Eel River Inn, LLC, to pay tribute to the Eel River,” Crook said.
The couple plans to completely refurbish the motel, located at 1601 State Road 114 in North Manchester, and turn it into extended-stay efficiency apartments for retirees, Crook said.
“We mainly want to focus on extended stay apartments, but we’ll still have overnight rooms if we need to,” he said.
“I want to create a clean, friendly environment for people like my dad, retirees who would be perfectly happy with somewhere with a clean bed, a fridge and a microwave.”
He emphasized that both the facility and the guests or residents will be held to high standards.
The Crook’s first step was to remodel the central area of the building, which will be their new home.
“We plan to live here full-time,” he said.
They are also remodeling 20 of the 25 rooms to turn into apartments.
“We’re refurbishing it 100 percent. When we’re done, the rooms will have all new carpet and paint,” Crook said. “All except five rooms in the back, which aren’t in any condition to be lived in.”
The Crooks are doing nearly all of the work to remodel the facility. They began working the week they closed on the property, taking only one week off to return to Kentucky so far.
“Once it’s up to my standards, we’ll reopen,” he said.
“We don’t have an actual timetable, but I’m hoping to have it done in six to eight weeks.”
For now, they have no plans to hire additional help besides contractors needed for parts of the remodeling. Since they will be extended living apartments, Crook said that he and his wife will take care of maintenance and caring for the rooms.
Part of the reason the Crooks are returning to Manchester after several years away involves being around family again.
“My sister’s here, and my wife’s mom and stepdad live in town. She’s got cousins all around here too,” he said.
Mrs. Crook is recovering from a recent illness and hospital stay, and the couple hopes that being around family will help accelerate that process.