Morningstar Family Corp. revamping Deloraine inn

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This article was published 25/11/2021 (1441 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A community change-maker has purchased the former Wilderness Inn in Deloraine.

Doug Morningstar and his company Morningstar Family Corporation officially took ownership of the newly dubbed Morningstar Inn on Nov. 1 and opened the door to visitors on Nov. 8. He noted they are still waiting for the new hotel signs to arrive, but they wanted to get it open right away.

“It had been sitting empty for the past two years,” Morningstar said, explaining his motivation in making the purchase.

The space was originally established as the Wilderness Inn in 2013. It immediately found success thanks to the oil boom at the time. However, the economy fell on hard times and the building was later left vacant for a number of years.

Morningstar worked closely with the R.M. of Deloraine–Winchester to help relaunch the hotel in the community. Manager Nadine Dietrick was hired to help run the hotel.

He praised Amanda Burger, community and economic development co-ordinator with the R.M., for her hard work in helping to keep the hotel in Deloraine to ensure visitors had a place to stay.

“There are people that come to town. We have nurses and doctors that are looking for a place to stay, and we have some business owners that come here,” Morningstar said. “People come here to hunt and golf and fish, and if you don’t have it, you’re not going to get them here.”

It is his first time owning a hotel, he said, but the ultimate goal was to ensure the inn stayed open in town to provide space for guests who visit Deloraine.

“We’re trying to come up with some ideas through Nadine and also the economic board with Amanda,” Morningstar said.

The inn boasts 37 rooms and is offering up its services as a hotel, long-term rental and office space. The Morningstar Inn currently has a coffee room, but they are looking at different ways to expand the space and the services they offer.

He added there is currently no coffee shop available in Deloraine in the morning, so they chose to launch a cafe.

“It gives people a place to go hang out,” Morningstar said. “It gives people a lot of — hopefully — upside potential that we can at least keep running it and keep it going.”

He is currently working on different ideas to expand the hotel’s offerings. However, they are cognizant of their actions because they do not want to compete with other businesses or organizations in town.

“The one thing we don’t want to do is step on other people’s toes,” Morningstar said. “We’re trying to do things that Deloraine needs.”

He added he will find out in the coming years if the inn was needed in the area and will learn from the experience.

Morningstar has a daughter that lives in the area, he said, and as a family, they believe in putting their money back into the town. He sits on several committees helping to boost Deloraine’s economy and brand awareness in the province.

“A lot of people talk about shopping at home, and a lot of people talk about doing stuff. I believe in talking and putting my money where my mouth is,” Morningstar said. “We’re not really on the beaten path anywhere right here. We’re kind of off the road a little bit … we’ve got a lot of good people in Deloraine and we’ve got to look after ourselves.”

He added launching the hotel would not have been possible without the support they received from the R.M.

Deloraine–Winchester Coun. Duane Edwards praised the work Morningstar has done to support the community. He described him as a mover and shaker.

“[The hotel] is a pretty big deal for a small town like ours,” Edwards said. “It’s wonderful news for the town of Deloraine and the community of Winchester.”

Helping establish the new Morningstar Inn involved close collaboration between the former owners of the hotel, the R.M. and the Morningstar family to reach a deal on the sale of the property.

Before the opening of the hotel, there were no rooms for rent in the area, he said, impacting the ability some people had to visit the area.

He hopes that having a space to stay will encourage tourists to visit for special events like the Spring Festival, concerts and other occasions.

He added he appreciates how the hotel has been able to open without getting into competition with other businesses.

It is important work, he added, because COVID-19 has impacted the local economy and the inn marks an active step on the road to recovery.

“COVID has, obviously, hurt a lot of communities,” Edwards said.

The R.M. has been working to encourage people to visit Deloraine, and Morningstar has been a major proponent in helping make this vision a reality.

“He’s quite an entrepreneur,” Edwards said. “He’s been a busy man.”

The councillor said it has been a community effort and praised a hard-working group of Deloraine residents who are helping the small town thrive.

“We have a good bunch of young people who have made Deloraine their home, and they really want to see it prosper and progress.

“All the community [members], at every age — they’ve all dug in.”

Council came in with a lot of enthusiasm, and excitement to see what can be done to help get Deloraine growing. It has been a great experience and appreciate the community’s help in making it a great place to live and retain residents.

“It’s a small community, we care for each other,” Edwards said. “We welcome anyone and we’re so happy when people move to town … and we do the best we can to provide a good lifestyle for everybody.”

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