Anytime a new business opens in Tyrone, it\u2019s a positive for the community. But when the business is going to keep a grasp on the historical and structural integrity, that makes the project that much more special.
\nTyrone residents Peg and Cummins McNitt are doing just that as plans push forward with Stony Point Bed and Breakfast, a new business the couple hopes the community will look at as preserving the important history of the structure, while adding an always needed source of revenue and tourism for the borough.
\n\u201cThis whole thing was really my wife\u2019s idea,\u201d said McNitt. \u201cOne morning, we were discussing what we could do in the future when she mentioned it. I thought for two or three minutes before saying \u2018Why not.\u2019 At the age of 70, we didn\u2019t want to look back and question why we didn\u2019t do something fun and exciting. Now we\u2019re going to have that opportunity.\u201d
\nAccording to McNitt, the couple will incorporate their life experiences into the new establishment, that\u2019s located on 1400 North Ave. in Tyrone in the former Edward Newlin property.
\nMr. McNitt was once the director of the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum and has unprecedented ties to the historic community in the area. This alone will bring the nostalgic attitude to the business. Mrs. McNitt, food service director with Huntingdon Area School District, will be responsible for the business portion and food service.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re also going to have our son Dudley (age 12) doing some small, daily chores around the place,\u201d said McNitt. \u201cI\u2019ll act as innkeeper and take care of the day-to-day stuff.\u201d
\nThe home was built in 1920 for Robert Johnston, who occupied the building until it was purchased in 1942 by Edward Newlin. Earlier this year, the McNitt\u2019s closed on the building\u2019s purchase.
\n\u201cWe decided we wanted to name it Stony Point Bed-and-Breakfast because of a natural landmark that sits on the property,\u201d said McNitt. \u201cThe people of Tyrone will realize that, just through the naming, we plan to keep things the way they are and not really change the historical integrity of the building.\u201d
\nBut there will be small changes.
\n\u201cThe only major remodeling we\u2019re going to need to do is in the kitchen area,\u201d said McNitt. \u201cWe\u2019ll need to install more industrial grade equipment so we can operate as a business.\u201d
\nThe kitchen is located on the first floor of the building, as is a dining room with a chandelier, a library, a grand hallway and a community room with a fireplace and a set of double doorways leading onto a porch.
\nThe second floor will contain five bedrooms and three baths. There\u2019s also a laundry chute.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ll live on the third floor,\u201d said McNitt, \u201cand we intend on be good neighbors.\u201d
\nBecause the building needs minor renovations in some areas, McNitt noted that all work will be contracted locally.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s very important to us that we keep everything pretty much the same as it once was,\u201d said McNitt. \u201cIn fact, we have a friend that\u2019s willing to come in an restore the wallpaper that\u2019s been here for at least 50 years.\u201d
\nMcNitt said the furniture inside the building will be a \u201cnice blend\u201d of antique items and modern furniture.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re working on a tight budget, but we\u2019re going to spend locally,\u201d said McNitt. \u201cWe\u2019re also blessed that our families have antiques and are willing to part with some of those items to help us along.\u201d
\nAccording to McNitt, the Tyrone Zoning Hearing Board recently passed two variances that will allow the family to operate the business in the facility. He said the couple is planning work for the next few months and are hoping for a May or June opening.
\nA typical stay at Stony Point Bed and Breakfast will consist of registration Friday night. The owners will provide breakfasts (either a scheduled menu-item breakfast or a continental breakfast) on Saturday and Sunday mornings and leave the guests decide what they want to do during the rest of their stay.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re hoping to develop some package deals for our guests that will allow them to tour some of the man historical sites in the area,\u201d said McNitt.
\n\u201cWe think Tyrone is the perfect location for a bed and breakfast,\u201d said McNitt. \u201cWe\u2019re going to provide our guests with plenty of room in a very cozy and relaxed atmosphere. We won\u2019t just be open for weekends. We understand that some people will be traveling into the area and want a little better accommodation than a regular hotel room. That\u2019s where we\u2019re going to come in.\u201d
\nMcNitt said this family-oriented business helps bring the much-needed tourism into the area.
\n\u201cI think Tyrone is well positioned for future growth and can only hope that what we\u2019re trying to do will aid in that,\u201d said McNitt. \u201cWe want our guests staying with us, then walking in the downtown and visiting all the shops and stores.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re hoping we promote the area. We really love this community and want to help it in any way that we can.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Anytime a new business opens in Tyrone, it\u2019s a positive for the community. But when the business is going to keep a grasp on the historical and structural integrity, that makes the project that much more special. Tyrone residents Peg and Cummins McNitt are doing just that as plans push forward with Stony Point Bed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47752\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}