Asking price for family-run hotel is $12 million. The marshmallow memories are priceless
'There's enough space available in Port Dover to build condos,' Andrew assures me, with a smile, 'you don't need to knock this down.' He's hoping the people who buy the place, 'make this 10 times more successful than we have; we want this to succeed and the town to succeed.'
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The business employs roughly 100 people, he explains, and 'the payroll between here and The Arbour, the tips, the stuff we buy locally, all that affects the local economy in a huge way.'
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Their eldest daughter manages the Terrace Room, Pam adds, and there was a lot of pressure on her: 'I remember her saying to me … 'I don't want to be the one who sells it … the whole town is going to look at me and I'm going to be the one who sells it someday.''
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Andrew and Pam know the decision to sell doesn't just affect the owners; many of their current employees have been working at the Erie Beach hotel for 20-plus years, Andrew reports. 'We had a bartender who was here for 40-something years, our chef was here 40-something years,' he says. 'Rose, who still works upstairs, has been over 40 years with us.'
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The hospitality business is demanding, Pam explains; the only day of the year the restaurants close is Christmas Day. 'And there was a time,' Andrew adds, 'when we never closed.'
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'We sold out every Christmas,' he reminisces, 'and then when dad left it to the staff to decide; 'You wanna continue to do Christmases or you wanna cut this off?' And they said, 'Let's cut it off.' Took three years,' Andrew laughs. 'We told everybody, 'OK, next year, we're cutting this back.' Cut it from three sittings down to two, down to one, and then none, and that was kind of how Christmas ended here.'
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Andrew and his brother Tony lived at the Erie Beach Hotel as young kids, he recalls, 'bussing tables for breakfast when we were nine or 10; before that we swept sidewalks and crushed the ice with a big old machine with a handle on the side.'
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A century ago, beginning in the Roaring '20s, people made the trek to Port Dover to dance to big band music in the ballroom of the Summer Garden. In the 1940s, bands included Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa. In the 1950s, Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks, and after that the Guess Who and Lighthouse played the venue.
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The nearby town of Jarvis was also home to a British Commonwealth Air Force base, 'so there was a lot of training going on,' for the war effort, says Andrew, 'and the guys blowing off steam here in town.' In the rough and tumble of the hotel's bar, once someone was cut off, you were cut off for life, Pam laughs. 'People learned to behave,' she says, 'or you didn't ever get to come back.'
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In 2000, Andrew and Pam bought the family business from his parents.
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'Perch was tight again, prices were going up, profits were going down,' Andrew recalls, and his mother was 'all wound up … asking 'what do we do if there's no more perch in Lake Erie?''
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Andrew told his mother: 'I'll put up a for sale sign, or I'll figure out a way to sell steak, or something, but I'm not tied here.'
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Andrew and Pam aren't leaving Dover anytime soon. Lake Erie is well stocked with perch. But the couple has decided their children can also choose their own path.
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The Province
a day ago
- The Province
Asking price for family-run hotel is $12 million. The marshmallow memories are priceless
The Erie Beach Hotel in Ontario is where my family has gathered for generations. For the Schneider family that owns it, however, it's time to move on Andrew and Pam Schneider, owners of the Erie Beach Hotel. Andrew says he hopes its new owners 'make this 10 times more successful.' Photo by Erie Beach Hotel In the early days of the Erie Beach Hotel, an iconic hotel and dining establishment in the small town of Port Dover, Ont., the Schneider family served lake-caught pickerel to their guests, alongside their signature celery bread, pickled pumpkin and marshmallow salads. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 'When blue pickerel was getting tight,' recalls third generation owner, Andrew Schneider, 'and they were catching all this unknown, unusable fish called Lake Erie yellow perch, my grandfather went down to the pier and came back with a bucket of this stuff and said to my grandma, 'what can we do with this?'' They were basically giving perch away, Andrew says with a shake of his head; nobody wanted it back then. Today, diners in the Cove Room, Terrace Room and Perch Patio — all part of the Erie Beach Hotel's much expanded restaurants, with capacity for 850 — continue to enjoy the celery bread, pickled pumpkin and marshmallow salads, Andrew reports. But mostly, they come for the Lake Erie perch. Tastes evolve, and times change. This spring, Andrew and his wife Pam, owners of the Erie Beach Hotel enterprise — and part-owners, with Andrew's brother, of The Arbor, a casual eating place famous for its trademarked Golden Glow drink and foot-long hotdogs, plus a mini-golf course, both nearby — are calling it quits. The family businesses in Port Dover are for sale, for an all-in asking price of just under $12 million. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Like many long-time patrons, I'm saddened by the news. The Cove Room is where my grandparents and parents gathered to celebrate milestone anniversaries and birthdays, graduations and engagements. Normally, I recoil from marshmallow in salads; but there, I partake, because the memories are sweet. The Schneider patriarch and matriarch, Harold and Marjorie, purchased a 'beat up' Erie Beach Hotel in 1946, as Andrew tells their story. Before his grandfather went away to the war, to serve in the navy, Andrew explains, 'Grandma and he ran a hotel in Kitchener.' His grandmother managed the hotel for the two or three years while his grandfather was at war, but the hotel owners only compensated her as a housekeeper. That injustice precipitated the couple's move to Dover. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. And now, after four generations of Schneiders — owning, operating and continuously improving the Erie Beach property — I'm curious to understand how Andrew and Pam came to the decision to sell a business that's become such a big part of their family's and Port Dover's identity. 'How will people react if these legacy assets are knocked down to make way for lakeshore condominiums?' I ask the couple in our virtual conversation. 'There's enough space available in Port Dover to build condos,' Andrew assures me, with a smile, 'you don't need to knock this down.' He's hoping the people who buy the place, 'make this 10 times more successful than we have; we want this to succeed and the town to succeed.' The business employs roughly 100 people, he explains, and 'the payroll between here and The Arbour, the tips, the stuff we buy locally, all that affects the local economy in a huge way.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Their eldest daughter manages the Terrace Room, Pam adds, and there was a lot of pressure on her: 'I remember her saying to me … 'I don't want to be the one who sells it … the whole town is going to look at me and I'm going to be the one who sells it someday.'' Andrew and Pam know the decision to sell doesn't just affect the owners; many of their current employees have been working at the Erie Beach hotel for 20-plus years, Andrew reports. 'We had a bartender who was here for 40-something years, our chef was here 40-something years,' he says. 'Rose, who still works upstairs, has been over 40 years with us.' The hospitality business is demanding, Pam explains; the only day of the year the restaurants close is Christmas Day. 'And there was a time,' Andrew adds, 'when we never closed.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We sold out every Christmas,' he reminisces, 'and then when dad left it to the staff to decide; 'You wanna continue to do Christmases or you wanna cut this off?' And they said, 'Let's cut it off.' Took three years,' Andrew laughs. 'We told everybody, 'OK, next year, we're cutting this back.' Cut it from three sittings down to two, down to one, and then none, and that was kind of how Christmas ended here.' Andrew and his brother Tony lived at the Erie Beach Hotel as young kids, he recalls, 'bussing tables for breakfast when we were nine or 10; before that we swept sidewalks and crushed the ice with a big old machine with a handle on the side.' The Schneider family has owned the Erie Beach Hotel since 1946. Photo by Erie Beach Hotel A century ago, beginning in the Roaring '20s, people made the trek to Port Dover to dance to big band music in the ballroom of the Summer Garden. In the 1940s, bands included Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa. In the 1950s, Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks, and after that the Guess Who and Lighthouse played the venue. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The nearby town of Jarvis was also home to a British Commonwealth Air Force base, 'so there was a lot of training going on,' for the war effort, says Andrew, 'and the guys blowing off steam here in town.' In the rough and tumble of the hotel's bar, once someone was cut off, you were cut off for life, Pam laughs. 'People learned to behave,' she says, 'or you didn't ever get to come back.' In 2000, Andrew and Pam bought the family business from his parents. 'Perch was tight again, prices were going up, profits were going down,' Andrew recalls, and his mother was 'all wound up … asking 'what do we do if there's no more perch in Lake Erie?'' Andrew told his mother: 'I'll put up a for sale sign, or I'll figure out a way to sell steak, or something, but I'm not tied here.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Andrew and Pam aren't leaving Dover anytime soon. Lake Erie is well stocked with perch. But the couple has decided their children can also choose their own path. He and Pam are attached to the place, Andrew says, 'but we shouldn't dictate to our kids what they want to do with their own lives.' Read More Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here. Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Canucks News Books Columnists
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Kennedy-Glans: Asking price for family-run hotel is $12 million. The marshmallow memories are priceless
Article content 'There's enough space available in Port Dover to build condos,' Andrew assures me, with a smile, 'you don't need to knock this down.' He's hoping the people who buy the place, 'make this 10 times more successful than we have; we want this to succeed and the town to succeed.' Article content The business employs roughly 100 people, he explains, and 'the payroll between here and The Arbour, the tips, the stuff we buy locally, all that affects the local economy in a huge way.' Article content Their eldest daughter manages the Terrace Room, Pam adds, and there was a lot of pressure on her: 'I remember her saying to me … 'I don't want to be the one who sells it … the whole town is going to look at me and I'm going to be the one who sells it someday.'' Article content Andrew and Pam know the decision to sell doesn't just affect the owners; many of their current employees have been working at the Erie Beach hotel for 20-plus years, Andrew reports. 'We had a bartender who was here for 40-something years, our chef was here 40-something years,' he says. 'Rose, who still works upstairs, has been over 40 years with us.' Article content Article content The hospitality business is demanding, Pam explains; the only day of the year the restaurants close is Christmas Day. 'And there was a time,' Andrew adds, 'when we never closed.' Article content 'We sold out every Christmas,' he reminisces, 'and then when dad left it to the staff to decide; 'You wanna continue to do Christmases or you wanna cut this off?' And they said, 'Let's cut it off.' Took three years,' Andrew laughs. 'We told everybody, 'OK, next year, we're cutting this back.' Cut it from three sittings down to two, down to one, and then none, and that was kind of how Christmas ended here.' Article content Andrew and his brother Tony lived at the Erie Beach Hotel as young kids, he recalls, 'bussing tables for breakfast when we were nine or 10; before that we swept sidewalks and crushed the ice with a big old machine with a handle on the side.' Article content Article content A century ago, beginning in the Roaring '20s, people made the trek to Port Dover to dance to big band music in the ballroom of the Summer Garden. In the 1940s, bands included Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa. In the 1950s, Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks, and after that the Guess Who and Lighthouse played the venue. Article content Article content The nearby town of Jarvis was also home to a British Commonwealth Air Force base, 'so there was a lot of training going on,' for the war effort, says Andrew, 'and the guys blowing off steam here in town.' In the rough and tumble of the hotel's bar, once someone was cut off, you were cut off for life, Pam laughs. 'People learned to behave,' she says, 'or you didn't ever get to come back.' Article content In 2000, Andrew and Pam bought the family business from his parents. Article content 'Perch was tight again, prices were going up, profits were going down,' Andrew recalls, and his mother was 'all wound up … asking 'what do we do if there's no more perch in Lake Erie?'' Article content Andrew told his mother: 'I'll put up a for sale sign, or I'll figure out a way to sell steak, or something, but I'm not tied here.' Article content Andrew and Pam aren't leaving Dover anytime soon. Lake Erie is well stocked with perch. But the couple has decided their children can also choose their own path.
National Post
3 days ago
- National Post
Asking price for family-run hotel is $12 million. The marshmallow memories are priceless
Article content The business employs roughly 100 people, he explains, and 'the payroll between here and The Arbour, the tips, the stuff we buy locally, all that affects the local economy in a huge way.' Article content Their eldest daughter manages the Terrace Room, Pam adds, and there was a lot of pressure on her: 'I remember her saying to me … 'I don't want to be the one who sells it … the whole town is going to look at me and I'm going to be the one who sells it someday.'' Article content Andrew and Pam know the decision to sell doesn't just affect the owners; many of their current employees have been working at the Erie Beach hotel for 20-plus years, Andrew reports. 'We had a bartender who was here for 40-something years, our chef was here 40-something years,' he says. 'Rose, who still works upstairs, has been over 40 years with us.' Article content The hospitality business is demanding, Pam explains; the only day of the year the restaurants close is Christmas Day. 'And there was a time,' Andrew adds, 'when we never closed.' Article content 'We sold out every Christmas,' he reminisces, 'and then when dad left it to the staff to decide; 'You wanna continue to do Christmases or you wanna cut this off?' And they said, 'Let's cut it off.' Took three years,' Andrew laughs. 'We told everybody, 'OK, next year, we're cutting this back.' Cut it from three sittings down to two, down to one, and then none, and that was kind of how Christmas ended here.' Article content Andrew and his brother Tony lived at the Erie Beach Hotel as young kids, he recalls, 'bussing tables for breakfast when we were nine or 10; before that we swept sidewalks and crushed the ice with a big old machine with a handle on the side.' Article content Article content A century ago, beginning in the Roaring '20s, people made the trek to Port Dover to dance to big band music in the ballroom of the Summer Garden. In the 1940s, bands included Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa. In the 1950s, Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks, and after that the Guess Who and Lighthouse played the venue. Article content The nearby town of Jarvis was also home to a British Commonwealth Air Force base, 'so there was a lot of training going on,' for the war effort, says Andrew, 'and the guys blowing off steam here in town.' In the rough and tumble of the hotel's bar, once someone was cut off, you were cut off for life, Pam laughs. 'People learned to behave,' she says, 'or you didn't ever get to come back.' Article content In 2000, Andrew and Pam bought the family business from his parents. Article content 'Perch was tight again, prices were going up, profits were going down,' Andrew recalls, and his mother was 'all wound up … asking 'what do we do if there's no more perch in Lake Erie?'' Article content Andrew told his mother: 'I'll put up a for sale sign, or I'll figure out a way to sell steak, or something, but I'm not tied here.' Article content Andrew and Pam aren't leaving Dover anytime soon. Lake Erie is well stocked with perch. But the couple has decided their children can also choose their own path. Article content He and Pam are attached to the place, Andrew says, 'but we shouldn't dictate to our kids what they want to do with their own lives.' Article content
