OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford The sale of the White Inn was announced in mid July by the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency.

The new owners of the White Inn offered an update to the OBSERVER on their plans for the venerable Fredonia hotel.

“We’re going to start construction and start demo work on the interior,” said Devin Jones, who partnered with Steven St. George to buy the structure in July.

Jones is taking a hard look at the kitchen design phase. He said they will likely have to dig up and reinstall the kitchen floor, and he also plans a new walk-in cooler/freezer.

The roof needs work, too. Jones said a roofing company will be brought in to secure the roof enough to get through the winter. The long-term, comprehensive repair job will start in the spring. That will include tearing out the old carpets.

“The inside stuff that we can do right now, we’re gonna do,” Jones said. That includes ordering new equipment and lining up contractors to install it.

“I want to make a little sense of the giant shell we have,” he said. “We’ve got a road ahead of us.”

Jones said he is not ready to offer a time frame on when the hotel will reopen.

St. George said, “We’ve made significant progress in not only determining the scope of work required to restore the Inn to its former greatness, but we’re going to improve the Inn with modern conveniences, including new audio and video systems throughout the Inn, new heating and cooling systems, and all new kitchen equipment. We are working on getting quotes for further repairs and getting funding in line.”

He added, “Chautauqua County officials, including Mark Geise, Nathan Aldrich and Kristine Morabito; Fredonia Mayor Doug Essek; and others have gone out of their way to help make this project a success.”