With roughly 75 people on hand, the ribbon was cut yesterday afternoon at the Cobblestone Hotel in Two Rivers. Sitting on the former Suettinger Hardware property this modern yet rustic looking hotel overlooks Lake Michigan, and the harbor.
City Manager Greg Buckley started the ribbon cutting ceremony off by speaking about the history of the city, and specifically the land the hotel sits on. We asked Buckley about why this plot of land was perfect for the hotel.
“We’ve recognized for quite a while now the need to pursue redevelopment in our downtown waterfront, and the incredible assets that this area offers,” Buckley explained. “This new hotel, 55 guest rooms right in the heart of the community, $6.3 million investment, really puts an exclamation point on those efforts.”
The two men who really brought this vision to life were Ross Niemi, and Rick Carrey from Two Rivers Hotel Group.
Neither man was real familiar with the hotel industry, but Carrey, who is also the President of The Metal Ware Corporation, explained they chose the Cobblestone Hotel Group because, “They are based out of the Fox Valley, they were local. Everything we did with this project was to try to keep it local. Quite frankly we liked their mission statement which was ‘Big city amenities with small town values.’ We really like that. We thought that resonated with what we wanted to do with our community, and they were the right partners for us to build this project with.”
Niemi spoke about the pandemic, and how they addressed the potential issues it brings to a hotel.
“We actually had some hard conversations before we opened…One thing we looked at is our market studies said we expected a high number of tourists vs business,” Niemi explained. “With what is going on with COVID, people are traveling locally. They are not getting on airplanes. We said we are not going to have a normal year, but it’s not time to pivot. It’s time to keep going on the same path that we were.”
To learn more about Cobblestone, the fastest growing Hotel chain in the U.S., or to book a stay, visit StayCobblestone.com.