Kimberly Ko was looking for a place for a music studio when she discovered the old restaurant space in the Stettler Hotel on Main Street.
The problem was, the owners weren't interested in renting the space to her. Instead, they offered the whole building to the classically trained pianist. With no experience in business, Ko decided that the space was meant for her, as was the building, and bought it from the previous owners.
After all, the business had existed, under various owners, since 1906. How hard could it be?
"I'm not a business person," Ko said. "I assumed the hotel business would just work."
So, with that philosophy, Ko bought the hotel and found out that, quite opposite to her initial instincts, almost nothing worked.
"Water, electricity, heat, it all needed to be fixed," she said. "It was a very cold building."
Ko said she learned the hard way that being a hotelier was anything but easy, but under her care in the past three years — plus a great deal of sweat and blood — the Stettler Hotel has slowly bloomed, like a flower, to reveal its true beauty.
Ko has renovated the rooms, which are geared to weekly, or longer, stays; the plumbing and electrical has been fixed. The menu has been upgraded with an Asian-fusion twist, representing the owner — who originally hails from South Korea — and her diverse culinary tastes.
"I've lived in three continents," Ko said. "I lived in Asia, I lived in South America, and North America. I like to eat healthy and that's what I'm trying to do here."
Gone are the greasy spoon pub options, replaced with healthier snacks like homemade salsa and nachos. She has used the space to bring different type of events to the area, including a classical music evening that was sold out, and a Christmas concert that she intends to see become an annual event.
This Saturday, June 25, Tap 9 will be coming to play at the Hotel's bar, The Edge. The special evening will see the Rolls Royce club roll into town to display their cars as well as a special Asian Fusion blend.
Ko said she believes in destiny; she knew nothing of running a business or a hotel, but since purchasing the building and discovering its run-down state, she has fallen in love with the Stettler landmark.
Originally built in 1906 by the town's namesake, Carl Stettler, the two-storey hotel burned down in 1908 during the fire that decimated much of the town. The hotel, then known as the National Hotel, was rebuilt as a three-storey building. While still being built in 1909, Stettler sold it to R.L. Shaw. It changed hands again in 1915.
The hotel burned again, this time in 1942; it was refurbished and repairs completed in 1949.
Since then, the hotel's name has changed to the Stettler Hotel and the familiar red sign was installed. Over the years, the hotel has deteriorated, that same red sign showing externally the sign of wear and tear that was visible throughout everything inside the building.
Through "selling a lot of beer," Ko said she has been able to fix a lot of the broken elements and improve on what's already in place. Her hard work has been recognized in the town, as she received an award for her work, with Town of Stettler Mayor Dick Richards more than once calling the hotel one of Stettler's "hidden treasures."
"I love this building," she said. "It just speaks to me. Heritage buildings like this, it should be a crime to let them fall apart."
After three years, Ko has finally opened the music studio that was the entire reason for looking into the Stettler Hotel in the first place. With so much to be done, the studio renovations had to be put aside.
Now complete, Ko is teaching piano to students in the space, as, even before a hotelier, she's a musician and a teacher.
One last improvement was needed, though; the red-and-white Stettler Hotel sign, broken and with chipped paint, had to be restored if people were to take the interior of the building as more than a dive, Ko explained.
She found someone who was able to refurbish the sign; old fluorescent lights were replaced with LED lights, and the paint was redone using the same type of paint used on airplanes.
"It's not going to show wear and tear easily," Ko said.
While the economy's turn for the worse has hit Ko's bottom line, as she's lost many of her tenants, business is better and improving all the time as new clientele find the hotel and its restored charms, and students line up to learn from Ko's classically trained pianist hands.
"If this business succeeds, it's going to be because of music," she said. "Everything I learned, I learned from piano. Patience and methodical approach to problems."