Levi Deal Mansion Bed & Breakfast
From the moment Michael and I met with The Progress Fund, we knew they were on our side. We wanted to build a successful bed & breakfast business, and, even though we had never run a bed & breakfast before, The Progress Fund did what no bank would have – they looked at our life experience and believed in us. The Progress Fund worked for us and with us to prepare our loan application and to process it so we could open our new business in time for the beginning of the trail season
People
Janis Dofner was a heritage tourism pro. Michael Dedolph was a computer guy who’d rather be cooking or administering a massage. The husband-and-wife team wanted to profit from the business boom along the Great Allegheny Passage. It so happened The Progress Fund was seeking a buyer for the B&B which it had helped open but was now threatened by the developers’ problems at other sites. Hearing Meyersdale residents talk about their trailside town’s beloved centerpiece, the palace of the long-gone timber baron, sealed it for Janis and Michael. “How can you not love something that is so authentic,” asks Janis, “and so beloved by the community?”
Progress
The Progress Fund bought out the bank that was part of the financing for the original developer. The Progress Fund ran the B&B, checked the numbers and proved it could turn a profit. So The Progress Fund loaned Janis and Michael $405,151 – enough to buy the building and start transforming the third floor ball room into an owners’ apartment.
Impact
Janis is revamping the Levi Deal’s marketing program, while Michael launches a massage sideline and plans a pizzeria-style eatery. Together, they aim to turn the town’s grand dame into a siren luring trail users. “They’ll come in from out of town, off the trail,” says Michael, “and this is what they’re going to remember about Meyersdale.”
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