As reported earlier the Lake Shore Salzburger Hof Resort, a favourite with Sault and Algoma diners and tourists for the past 47 years, has closed its doors, the Batchawana Bay property it sits on sold to Batchewana First Nation.
“My mother-in-law (owner Ann Elsigan) passed away last year, in March of 2018. She was trying to sell it for the longest time but it just didn’t happen in her lifetime, so we just put it up for sale with a different real estate agency this spring and things moved along quite quickly. The offer came along, and the time was right for everybody,” said the Salzburger Hof’s Armando Tempesta, speaking to SooToday.
Four family members, including Tempesta, ran the resort with the help of staff.
“We think it was time for a rest. It was a very demanding operation. We had probably our best year this past year, it was super busy. There was no better time to leave than on a high note. It was busy, busy, busy, right up to the end.”
“It was very bittersweet. The girls (Tempesta’s wife and sister-in-law) felt really bad about it. They had been in the tourist industry a long time. Personally, I wanted to carry on with other things in my life. My wife and I would like to travel and spend time at the cottage,” Tempesta said.
Still, Tempesta said “the girls are holding out the possibility of, after a year, coming back and opening something up (perhaps something involving Austrian and German cuisine) near the Mile Hill. They might be back.”
“Me? I’ll be watching from the sidelines,” Tempesta chuckled.
Alexandra Syrette, Batchewana First Nation communications coordinator, informed SooToday an official announcement will be made next week regarding the purchase of the property.