Community

Mill Hall restaurant-tavern owners work hard to survive … and grow

MILL HALL -- Like most restauranteurs, Tom Smith had to come up with a new business plan in the face of COVID-19 restrictions.

And he did.

Smith's Valley Hotel in Mill Hall was closed for two months in 2020 as the pandemic hit.

There was basically no money coming in.

So he adapted.

He put in a drive-up window for take-out food and beverages and, because of support from his patrons, his business is surviving.

In fact, he said at one point revenues were up from pre-pandemic times.

But Smith emphasized that he and his son, Clint Smith, who is gradually taking over for his dad, had considered closing last year before making changes as the virus took a toll.

"With COVID, it hurt my business greatly and I was closed for two months. We were losing money and I couldn't afford to stay open with takeout, markups and paying employees," Tom Smith said.

So they installed a drive-through window in order to entice customers to come back.

That happened, but even more surprising to the Smiths was that new customers started coming.

"Up until today, I haven't seen over half the regular customers that used to come in here since the pandemic started. The only thing that saved my bar was putting up a takeout window for food and alcohol," Tom Smith explained.

"Our famous Friday fish special has just exploded. We are selling so much fish on Fridays and throughout the week. We are getting new people all of the time since doing this," he said.

With continued support of the local community, Tom Smith and his son said they plan to improve The Valley Hotel with new specials and a new atmosphere.

"In the spring I am putting an outdoor patio in the back with a big screen television and a propane firepit in the middle. I am redoing my front porch with new furniture so people can sit and eat out there. I'm going to have the whole parking lot paved over as well. I want to put up some murals on the side of the building's walls and have it screened in so the sun doesn't shine in. I want to make it look really nice," said Tom Smith.

"We are always trying to improve our food and bring in new food items on the menu, specials and all that. Every Friday and Saturday night I try to serve new specials," he added.

Smith also owns the property where the former Benjie's Bar and Grill used to be, and he intends to open a food trailer there pending borough approval.

"For the spring, I have already ordered a drive through food trailer where we will be offering some pretty good food. My son, Clint, and my grandson, Riley Smith, will be taking care of that," Smith said.

Smith wasn't always in the bar and restaurant business.

He formerly was proprietor of the Roller Roost skating rinks in Lewistown, now known as the Carousel Skating Rink, and Pottsville, now known as the Roller Roost Sports Arena.

Smith also owned his own landscaping business at the time.

But he's a Clinton County native.

"I was born here in the area in 1951 and I lived here until about 1979," Smith remembered. "I moved to Lewistown for around a year where I built a roller-skating rink. I then moved to Pottsville in 1980, where I built another skating rink. I lived there until I moved back to the area in 2010."

The out-of-town skating rinks Smith owned are still operating today.

"I sold my 32,000-square-foot skating rink in Pottsville last March," he said.

"We had roller derbies, in-line hockey, laser tag, and rock wall in. In my opinion, it was one of the most beautiful rinks in Pennsylvania," he said.

When asked about why he took ownership of the Valley Hotel, Tom Smith had this to say, "In Pottsville, I had the skating business and my landscaping business. After working 10 hours and being 59 at the time with a bad knee, it was very hard for me."

As times and fads changed, the roller-skating business fell through for Smith.

"The roller-skating rink wasn't making the money it used to. Kids got into video games and that kind of stuff and they're just not into it anymore," he said.

"No matter what, I always had roots in the Mill Hall and Lock Haven areas. I knew that it was always a very successful bar so I bought the Valley Hotel in 2010," he recalled.

Clint Smith is excited for the future in taking over for dad.

"I just started working for my dad at The Valley Hotel and I am very excited to be working with him and running things," Clint told The Express. "I used to manage Rite Aids throughout Pennsylvania up until I turned 40 before moving back to the area from Conshohocken. I am looking forward to getting into the business and helping out my father."

Tom said he feels great about his son taking over.

"I believe in investing in the community. I have given my son a lot of ideas for what to do in the future and develop with. I told him, please do all of this. I love the people here in Mill Hall. It is quiet but it is a great town to come to and live in," Tom Smith said.

Jim and Movias Young were the previous owners of The Valley Hotel before Smith took ownership.

The Valley Hotel has had different incarnations over the years.

It is a historic building in the borough.

There are pictures on the walls with Model Ts, after the building was erected as a repair garage for horse-and-buggy in the 1800s.

"The hotel was not always a bar and restaurant. I believe it was originally a garage, then it was a tobacco shop, different stuff," Tom Smith said. "From what I have been told, The Valley Hotel started with a woman who had a place to stable horses. She would have a buffet for people to come in and eat and it grew from there."