The Beech Creek Hotel was built in 1852 and was first known as the Bellevue House. Early proprietors of the business included Cline Quigley who sold the business in 1895 to Peter Gould. Jacob Basinger, another owner, sold the business at the start of the prohibition when the law took effect.

As the business passed from hand to hand, the building gradually got upgraded. In 1905, owner John P. DeHass had a carbide lighting system installed — which was a state-of-the-art system for that era. The hotel actually had the first ever television in the entirety of Beech Creek.

Richard Quigley owned the hotel for a time before it was purchased by William P. and Ella Morrissey in 1916.

When the Morrisseys owned the hotel, it was set up to be a hotel and restaurant in the front, and in the back was a soft drink and ice cream factory along with a livery stable.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS Amy Heltman is seen with her parents, Merleen “Mert” and Charles “Bud” Gundlach, shaking hands to ‘seal the deal’ on the purchase of the Beech Creek Hotel.

When the stable was torn down in 1933, the Morrisseys opened a beer business with their first liquor license being granted the same year.

Later, the Morrisseys sold the business to their daughter, Ruth Morrissey Gundlach, who later sold it to William “Bill” and Fay Gundlach who operated the business until 1981.

When Charles “Bud” Gundlach and his wife, Merleen, (lovingly called “Mert”) took over the hotel in 1981 from Bud’s parents, Bill and Fay, they made some changes to the business while still keeping that authentic homestyle feel. Now, they plan to pass the business on to their daughter, Amy Heltman.

“Seeing businesses passed down through the generations is very important. There’s a lot of things that don’t (move on) to the younger generations,” said Merleen.

Amy has wanted to take over the business for the past 10 years, but Mert and Bud weren’t ready to hand it over until now.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS A page of history about the business in an old book is pictured.

“I like what I do here. I like catering — I don’t feel like I’m coming to work every day,” said Amy.

“Now it is time,” said Merleen, “We’ve made a good living here and it takes an army to do it. We’ve been very fortunate.”

The Gundlachs praised their devoted employees past and present who helped keep the ship afloat.

One of the employees that works at the business daily is head bartender Jodi Cokeley, who has been with the hotel since 2010. Prep cook Allison Cokeley and waitress Shirl Kephart also work at the hotel daily and keep business running smoothly.

When the Gundlachs took over, they raised the quality of the food and added catering to their skillset. They cater funerals, Durty Dabber events, United Way events and more.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS A page from Merleen’s binder shows special tax stamps from the 1930s.

“We started into the catering, and then Amy jumped in and escalated it more. We have a (great) business,” said Bud.

They rely solely on word-of-mouth for advertising, and their customers often sing their praises for their good food and friendly attitudes.

Those who grew up in the area have likely seen the sign that hangs proudly on Main Street boasting about “the best wings this side of the bridge.” Anyone who has eaten here will tell you it’s more than just bold talk.

Their breaded chicken wing recipe dates back to the 1950s when Bud’s mother, Fay S. Gundlach, developed the recipe that is still in use today and has been handed down to family members over the years as a closely guarded secret.

In the 1990s they added five flavors of party wings. Today, the hotel offers close to 50 different flavors.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS Harold Laubscher, Jr. and Larry Sherman, who played at the Gundlach’s 25th celebration, are pictured in an old photo.

For their 25th year of ownership, the Gundlachs hosted a week-long celebration at the hotel, inviting all of their past employed bartenders to take a walk down memory lane.

With this 25th anniversary celebration, Merleen kept an extensive record of hotel memories in a binder — recounting stories told at the business and events they’ve lived through there.

“I worked hard to get these books together,” said Merleen. “It was really stressful to get it ready for the 25th anniversary. Getting started was painstaking, but every year I kept continuing to put the licenses and the articles in there.”

A couple of the stories in the binder included:

— Neva Askey and Janice Confer Donahay asking to skip out on work to go to a yard sale for a few hours. Mert allowed it and said she would cover the bar for that time period. The pair never came back to work, and also never went to the yard sales. Mert found them drinking at what was known as “Bittner’s Bar” and fired them. Bud re-hired them soon after.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS Jim McCloskey is pictured with the Bud Light girls in another old photo.

— When Amy was a child she had a bike. The only place she and her sister, Mindy, were allowed to ride their bikes was in the parking lot of the hotel and the driveway. They had to be very careful due to people coming and going from the businesses — though the customers were very cautious knowing that the two small children were about. One day, a regular, Harry Haines, called Amy a “Fart Face” and to this day she has never forgiven him.

— A clipping that read, “Linn Heverly and Paul Bowers, Beech Creek soldiers, home on furlough, and William Bowers, who will leave for the Army, were honored by the younger crowd of the Beech Creek community with a spaghetti supper in the Rainbow Room of the Beech Creek Hotel.”

— Merleen once got fed up with the hotel and used the marquee to write ‘for sale’ in hopes of finding someone who was interested in buying the business. Amy and her sister, Mindy, changed the sign to ‘Mom for sale.’

Merleen’s binder is full of historical information about the hotel. She has found and kept records of old “Beech Creek Hotel Liquor Licenses” and special retail dealer stamps dated as far back as 1933.

“According to the Liquor Control Board, the earliest known liquor license they have on record dates back to 1936. We have all our licenses in it and we have special tax stamps from 1933. We saved every one,” said Merleen.

Originally, when they acquired the hotel in 1981, Merleen was going to throw away all of the old licenses. Bud convinced her not to — a fact she is grateful for.

Among these records are numerous articles from The Express throughout the years, many listings of the Beech Creek Hotel in the “Reader’s Choice” section and cutouts of ads from A.W. Gundlach.

Amy officially purchased the business from her parents on March 7, carrying on the family legacy.

Amy is taking over the business with help and support from her husband, Jesse Heltman; daughter, Ariyana and sons, Jesse and Jackson.

After 43 years of dedication and many memories, Bud and Merleen have only one request for their customers.

“Mert and I would like to thank them for the 43 years of dedication, service and memories,” said Bud.

“We hope you have the same support for Amy that you have given us all these years,” said Merleen.

The Beech Creek Hotel kitchen is open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. They are also open from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays with a limited menu.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS More historical items at the Beech Creek Hotel are pictured, including “Golden Memories,” an oral history book by 4th, 5th and 6th graders at the Beech Creek Elementary School.

BREANNA HANLEY/THE EXPRESS The receipt from the Beeck Creek Hotel’s first curbside customer, Miles and Marly Kessinger, during the COVID-19 pandemic, is pictured.