Honesdale hotel revives past glory

Sets its sights on the future through service and value

By TOM KANE

HONESDALE, PA - When’s the last time you walked into the Wayne Hotel?

If it’s been a long time, then you have got to revisit it because you won’t believe how it has changed.

This once grand hotel is returning to the former grandeur it had at the turn of the century when business people, looking for a deal, walked the few blocks from the Stourbridge Railroad or the Delaware-Hudson Canal, which had brought them to bustling, business-like Honesdale.

The Wayne Hotel is the only hotel in Honesdale and the only restaurant with a banner chef.

There’s a new general manager, Jim Petorah, a new bar, two new dining rooms, new décor on the walls, an impressive entrance lobby with a classic staircase, and a new chef trained at the world-famous Culinary Institute of America (CIA). And there’s even a new ballroom and room for a stage.

On the second and third floors, the hotel has 20 rooms and suites, each with a private bath and a computerized direct-dial telephone system and color cable TV. It is fully air-conditioned and there is high speed free Internet throughout the hotel.

“We should do well since we are close to the Wayne Memorial Hospital, several businesses and the mainstay of Honesdale, the county seat,” Petorah said.

The 150-year-old building also includes a meeting room in the rear of the hotel, which will be available in a few months. Numerous original paintings by former local artist Harold Becker hang on the walls throughout the building.

The dining room and bar, which are named Bistro 1202, have been open for a month without any fanfare. “People have just been coming in and telling their friends about us,” Petorah said.

Petorah, who has years of hospitality experience, worked for the Lodge at Woodloch and Caesar’s Resorts in the Poconos. CIA trained chef David Schwartz is the son of the owners and has worked in several first-class kitchens.

“The cuisine is what we call Classic American at moderate pricing,” Petorah said. “In addition to the house menu, there will always be specials for lunch and dinner and a kid’s menu for families.”

The moderate prices for both food and lodging are part of a plan by owners Leon and Margery Schwartz, who have owned the hotel for 20 years.

“Mr. Schwartz has been an entrepreneur on Long Island for many years and has made a study of how certain hospitality businesses survived in the Great Depression. He is convinced this hotel can survive and even thrive if it keeps to the formula of a first-rate product at moderate prices,” Petorah said.

For more information visit www.hotelwayne.com or call 570/253-3290.