Kane Manor Inn

People

Debra Miller had a sweet job, as one of the U.S. chocolate industry’s leading scientists, but she no longer enjoyed the travel.  Her husband, Ben, was ready to sell his kayak rental business, Cocoa Kayak Rentals.  They saw a property listed online that suited their tastes:  The Kane Manor Inn bed & breakfast.  “This is what we’re going to do,” they vowed, Debra says.  “We’re going to buy this place.  So we did.”  They sought financing to renovate the shuttered speakeasy and the portico, but interest rates were rising.

Progress

The North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission referred the Millers to The Progress Fund, which loaned $212,000 — enough to renovate, plus refinance a line of credit.

Impact

Kane Manor Inn was home to a legendary family with a heritage of military and medical leaders and explorers.  The eccentric side of the family included heir Elisha “Sashy” Kent Kane III who took a different life’s course and turned the home into an inn and left his legacy of artwork around the mansion including in the speakeasy pub in the basement.

Sashy’s Taproom channels his Prohibition Era mischievousness, complementing Friday Drinks on the Veranda to coax both travelers and locals.

“It will help the entire region to take advantage of the beautiful setting here with the forest we’re next to, all of the hiking trails, all of the activities,” says Debra.  And around mid-February, she’ll add another enticement:  Chocolate Weekend.