Hammel House Inn Reopening in Waynesville for Sauerkraut Festival

"My mom and I were shopping and we walked by the place. It was so sad. We used to have lunch here."

That was Allison Edmonds, talking to the Dayton Daily News about the Hammel House Inn at 121 S. Main St. Her family now owns it. She and her father, Jeff Bonham, bought the 204-year-old tavern at auction at the end of August. They have been racing to open its guest rooms before the 56th Ohio Sauerkraut Festival on October 10 and 11.

The reopening is more than one good story on festival weekend. Look at this fall's village council packets and the local coverage together, and a pattern shows up. Waynesville's newest downtown investments sit within a short walk of the inn: a planned parking lot, a planned mural, festival work and a new business. The Hammel House block on south Main Street is where the downtown is being rebuilt.

Two years with a dark storefront at 121 South Main

In August 2024, a fire started in the kitchen at the back of the inn when a suppression system failed. It gutted the kitchen and filled the inn with smoke. The doors stayed closed for more than two years.

The closure cost more than the building. "It had a dramatic impact on our business community," Lacie Sims, executive director of the Waynesville Area Chamber of Commerce, told Dayton 24/7 Now. "Some of our shops lost 50% of their sales." Sims said nearby shops picked up again as soon as the reopening was announced, because people started stopping by to look.

That figure explains why the village has treated the inn as more than a private renovation. One building on Main Street was steering traffic for its neighbors. With it closed, some of those neighbors lost half their sales.

Bonham, who helped build Bonham Electric before he retired, said he first called the idea crazy when his wife and daughter suggested buying the place. "I didn't buy it as just an investment," he told the Dayton Daily News. "We want to be part of history."

Five rooms first, and the rest in order

The family is restoring the inn in stages. Edmonds described the order to the Dayton Daily News, and the steps matter for anyone planning a visit this month.

1. The bed-and-breakfast rooms. Five suites are named for birds: Peacock, Cardinal, Goldfinch, Hummingbird and Bluebird. Beds range from twins to kings. Dayton 24/7 Now reported that all five will be available to rent for the festival.
2. A gift shop with locally made goods and keepsakes.
3. New parking on the lot next door.
4. A mural on the side of the building facing the new lot. The family plans to start fundraising once the neighboring house is torn down and paint the mural after the lot is finished.
5. Public dining, which comes last. Edmonds said she wants the menu to stay as local as possible.

If you remember lunch in the old dining room, it isn't part of the festival-weekend reopening. The rooms are.

The rooms are furnished with period antiques. The family has been buying them from shops and estate sales around Waynesville, including pieces Edmonds bought at a local estate sale. The family's Facebook page for the reopening has passed 24,000 views. Commenters have shared memories of meals there and of grandparents who once lived at the inn.

Village Manager Gary Copeland, who is also director of public safety, has been watching the work. He told Dayton 24/7 Now the family is meeting the building codes and, in his view, exceeding them.

The village is building around the same block

Step three on the inn's list depends on Village Hall. In his September 21 report to council, Copeland said the village had finalized its purchase of 137 S. Main St. for public parking. The Dayton Daily News described the plan as tearing down the existing house and putting in a 20-space lot for downtown visitors.

Copeland asked council to pass two ordinances as emergencies. One authorizes a contract with Fed Excavating to remove the duplex, level the ground and build the lot. The other buys an 87-by-54-foot parcel for overflow parking for $11,000. He wanted the debris cleared before the festival, and he also asked council to consider a public drinking fountain for the new lot. The September 21 agenda listed the demolition and paving contract as a first reading. Council's next regular meeting is October 5. As of today, the lot is a plan, not pavement.

Plot the fall's south Main Street addresses and they land close together:

Not every downtown change this fall is on south Main. Still, the pieces that touch a visitor's first stop, which are parking, restrooms and the Chamber desk, sit on the same stretch as the inn.

Festival weekend is the first test

Saturday hours on Historic Main Street run 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday hours run 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Curt Day chairs the festival this year.

For residents, the logistics are mostly the same as past years:

• Shuttle: Buses leave Wayne Local High School, 735 Dayton Road, for North and Third streets near the main stage. They run 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Fares are $5 cash or $6 by card.
• Private lots: Lot owners run these independently of the Chamber and the festival, so rates and rules vary.
• Towing: The program says parking rules are strictly enforced to keep emergency routes clear. Waynesville Police can be reached at 513-897-8010.

On the street, you'll notice bright booth numbers painted on the curbs. The festival committee painted them without asking the village first. At the September 21 council meeting, Sims apologized, explaining that the old numbers had faded and the chair wanted a more uniform look. A council member whose husband is a festival street ambassador said the bright numbers would make booths easier to find after dark. Sims added that the fire chief told her they would help his department reach booths faster. Council approved the numbers for this year. Sims agreed to work with the Historic Preservation Board on a solution that better suits the historic downtown in future years.

Two other changes may show up in festival traffic. At the August 8 Street Faire, the village used new barricades, and Copeland reported they worked well. At State Route 42 and North Street, ODOT installed new traffic signals and took the covers off September 10. Ryan Oeder, ODOT's District 8 manager, said the plan was to switch them from flashing to normal operation on September 21 if a 10-day burn test went smoothly. We found no public confirmation that the switch happened, so check that intersection before you count on the timing.

Before the crowds arrive, the street department sprayed weeds between the Main Street pavers and repainted yellow curbs across the village.

After the tents come down

The festival lasts two days. Most of the work around it is meant to last longer, and several projects are lined up for the weeks after.

Fourth Street is finished. The project brought a new waterline and stormwater line, resurfacing and restriping, and the village also adjusted turn-lane markings on Franklin Road to make turns onto Lytle Road easier. Fifth and Sixth streets come next. Ford Development submitted the lowest bid for the water main replacement and resurfacing project, and the village's engineer recommended accepting it. Council held a first reading of the ordinance and has a second reading still ahead. The village's notice of award names Ford as the successful bidder and lists $1,617,157 for the Fifth/Sixth Street and Chapman Road work, covering water mains, storm sewers, curb ramps and resurfacing. The packet doesn't include a construction schedule, so watch upcoming council agendas for detour dates.

The village has also applied for state Public Works Commission money for a $1.9 million waterline and repaving project on Old State Route 73, which is Franklin Road. If the grant comes through, it would cover 69% of the cost, about $1.3 million. The village would pay about $600,000, and the township would contribute $25,000.

At the Mary L. Cook Library, a park project is underway, with new landscaping, seating and better lighting shown in the manager's progress photos.

The holidays are also on the agenda. Council voted 6–0 to adopt an emergency ordinance authorizing a contract with Light'N Up Ohio for Christmas lights downtown. The company's proposal calls for 43 warm-white LED wreaths, each 24 inches wide with red-and-gold bows, plus 44 nine-foot garlands for 43 Main Street light poles and the clock. The quote is $13,500 for the first year and $7,500 a year after that for installation, removal, storage and maintenance. We haven't seen an install date for Main Street. Christmas in the Village is still on. Copeland reported receiving the street-closure permit, and council had no objection to him signing it. The Chamber's tent will go up in its usual spot, which it has occupied since the 1990s, with the opening turned to face the neighboring clock shop so visitors walk past the shop on their way in.

Back at 121 S. Main, the family plans to start raising money for a mural once the house next door is torn down. Edmonds told the Dayton Daily News the mural, which will depict the inn's long history and Waynesville's, will go on the side wall once the lot is complete.

Some of the furniture in those bird-named suites came from Waynesville estate sales, from homes where families were deciding what to keep and what to let go. If your family is going through that now, Young Kim Realty has spent decades helping Miami Valley households handle estate sales and later-life moves with patience and a clear plan. Contact us when you're ready to talk through the first steps.