Situated near the Lebanon-Lancaster county line and surrounded by farmland, Kleinfeltersville, the little town with the big name, had three landmarks: a church, a post office and a tavern. But on April 1, 2015, the tavern, a three-story brick building built in 1859 and known as the Kleinfeltersville Hotel, was destroyed by fire.
Owner and manager Curtis Hollinger, who lived on the second floor of the hotel, wasn’t home at the time. But two pets, Sonny, his dog, and Cali, his cat, perished. An electrical malfunction in the first-floor kitchen was blamed.
The fire had snaked up inside the walls, destroying the second and third floors, while leaving the front of the first floor damaged but still standing.
“We tried to salvage the old building, but the walls were severely damaged,” Hollinger said. “It was recommended that we tear it down.”
Overwhelmed by the heart-rending event, Hollinger didn’t know what to do.
“Once we realized we couldn’t salvage the old building, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to rebuild,” he said.
He had bought the hotel in 1999, when it was little more than a bar, and transformed it into an eating establishment as well as a tavern.
“It was just a beer-and-shot type of bar,” Hollinger said. “There was no industrial type of kitchen, so I added a kitchen three years after we opened.”
Hollinger is credited with transforming the hotel into more of a family destination, with music on the deck on summer evenings.
The K-ville Hotel, as it was known to the locals, specialized in pub-style food, including sandwiches, steaks and seafood. The popular hot roast beef sandwiches were a big draw.
“Anybody who came out was able to find something they’d like; we had a versatile menu,” Hollinger said. “Always, from day one, we wanted to provide a good meal at a good price.”
Light and music from the historic building overflowed into the town, brightening the quiet little community and making it more lively. Kleinfeltersville had officially become a destination.
The town is next to the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Center, a refuge that brings hundreds of people to the area when the snow geese arrive in spring. Many of them hung around to have dinner at the hotel.
Then came the fire, and suddenly Hollinger was faced with a choice. He had trained at the Lincoln House in Ephrata, his hometown, and he could take his restaurant-managing skills anywhere. Or he could build again.
Just looking at the burned-out shell that had been his livelihood was a heartbreaker, he said.
It would have been easier to move on. But so many people wanted the hotel to come back, and that swayed him.
“A big deciding factor was the support of the local people,” Hollinger said. “They’ve always been there for me.”
The remains of the historic hotel were razed and removed in November 2015, with construction beginning on the same spot as the former hotel and continuing throughout the winter of 2015-16. It reopened late last year.
Fond memories
Heidelberg Township Supervisor Bruce Kramer has fond memories of the original K-ville Hotel.
“I’ve been going there for 40 years,” he said. “What I liked best about it was the camaraderie.”
Kramer knows a bit of the history of the place, too. Kleinfeltersville residents Edie and Marion Sechrist bought the hotel right after World War II and were the proprietors for many years, eventually passing the business on to a son and daughter.
Even before Hollinger bought the hotel, the place always had a special community feel to it, Kramer said.
The architecture of the 1800s building made it special, too, he said. It was quaint and comfortable.
“The (township) supervisors are pleased at the reopening of the hotel,” Kramer said. “It’s long been a positive destination for travelers, visitors and residents.”
The jobs created by the hotel’s reopening are welcome, too, Kramer said.
“A business like the Kleinfeltersville Hotel brings our community together through employment as well as patronage,” Kramer said. “We wish Curtis and his crew the best, now and for years to come.”
Looking to the future
As Hollinger and workers put on the final touches, he reflected on the journey post-fire.
“It’s really like it’s risen from the ashes,” he said. “It was a lot of work.”
The only pieces Hollinger was able to save from the original building were two wooden doors and some hardwood flooring. Both the antique doors and the flooring were installed in two private dining rooms in the front of the building, each able to seat about a dozen people.
The new main dining room seats about 70 people, as does the expanded deck on the back of the building. The dining room is dominated by a large bar with a limestone base and a mahogany top.
The exterior of the hotel is brick, just like the original. But it was impossible to bring back all the historic charm of the former structure.
Instead of three floors, the hotel has one for diners and a basem*nt for storage. There are plans for the lower level “down the road,” Hollinger said, which may include transforming it into a lounge or game room.
“We tried to create something that would fit into the time frame that it was from,” Hollinger said. “A lot of it was trial and error, a lot of decisions, and that’s what takes a long time. When you’re doing it all yourself, picking out colors and curtains, it’s like, ‘Whoa, OK, I can do this.’ “
While the former hotel had a large following from the Lancaster area, Hollinger said it’s time to expand its customer base.
“Now it’s time to move toward Lebanon and the Womelsdorf area, and target other areas with advertising,” he said.
Contact Marylouise Sholly: (610)371-5025 or country@readingeagle.com.
