CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS — Cambridge Springs’ historic “Grand Lady” — the River-side Inn — has new, but familiar, ownership.

Ken Falken-hagen, managing director of Riverside’s dinner theater, and Brenda Evans, a long-time dinner theater performer, have purchased the Victorian-style inn and its 7.5-acres from Michael and Marie Halliday. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Three stories high, the inn has 74 guest rooms,

a restaurant and numerous other rooms for entertainment and social functions.

Falkenhagen, 34, and Evans, 47, say they bought the inn — which dates from 1885 and is on the National Register of Historic Places — because of their love of the place. Falkenhagen has been performing at the dinner theater for more than 10 years, and Evans for more than 20 years.

“It really does boil down to that,” Falkenhagen said. “It’s a beautiful place to work. It’s a beautiful place to come and stay.”

Evans said she and her husband, Larry Evans, a musician who plays at the dinner theater, always have called the inn the “Grand Lady” and dreamed of owning it.

“If we ever won the lottery, the first thing we’ve always said is ‘Buy the inn,’ ” Evans said.

Falkenhagen and Evans say they will continue the inn’s restoration efforts which have been ongoing under the Hallidays’ ownership. Those improvements include adding an elevator for easier access to the three floors of rooms, and they will expand the entertainment offerings.

Falkenhagen and Evans approached the Hallidays in December about buying it.

“We sensed as employees it was just the right time to approach them,” Falkenhagen said. “They were picky about who they wanted to sell it to.”

The Hallidays had the inn on the market for the past eight years, but were seeking a buyer who would continue the restoration and Riverside traditions such as its dinner theater.

There had been other offers over the years to purchase it, including ones to convert it to another use such as a nursing home, but the Hallidays wanted the buyer to keep it going.

“It’s time to retire,” Marie Halliday said in a telephone interview Monday. “We need younger blood and new ideas. We can’t think of anybody else we’d rather have it.”

Among the ideas Falkenhagen and Evans have is a slight expansion of the inn’s operating season and adding more activities. The inn will maintain its employment level of 90 full- and part-time jobs during its most popular seasonal operations, they said.

It will open this year April 2 and run through the New Year’s holiday. The inn traditionally had opened about mid-April and closed the Sunday before Christmas.

“We plan to take what the Hallidays have done over the last quarter-century and take it to the next level,” Falkenhagen said. “We want this to become a destination again. That starts by ensuring that there’s always activity, like live music in the pub every weekend.”

They also want it to be a centerpiece for the community, with holiday and family activities including an Independence Day celebration and Oktoberfest.

Building projects will be installation of the elevator, mainly to accommodate older guests, and renovations of the lounge into an English pub-like setting. Evans said the inn has lost some overnight business because the only way to get to most of the guest rooms is via the grand staircase.

“We hope that’ll help us attract more overnight bus groups to the area,” she said of the elevator. Many of the bus groups are those of senior citizens who would have trouble climbing stairs with luggage, she said.

According to the American Bus Association, a motorcoach with an average passenger load can contribute as much as $11,200 per night to the local economy.

The grounds will also continue to get beautification, she said.

Restoration of the former water spring house on the grounds and the boardwalk would be a future renovation project, they said.



Events

The Riverside Inn of Cambridge Springs hosts a number of events throughout its annual operating season of late spring to late December, including:

- A schedule of dinner theater shows from April through mid-December.

- A spring music festival in April.

- Artist workshops in various mediums are held throughout the spring, summer and fall.

- A Halloween party in late October.

- Breakfasts and lunches with Santa Claus on Saturdays in December.

- A large number of patrons for its Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Thanksgiving dining room events.

Keith Gushard can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.