John and Judy Hinman purchased the Silo Restaurant property and are building a pavilion, remodeling the carriage house and putting in pathways, calling it The Silo Retreat. (Submitted photo)

COVENTRY — JA Squared Contracting owner John Hinman and his wife Judy have purchased the old Silo property from previous owner Gary Kurz and are planning to build a pavilion, cabins and pathways to bring continual use and enjoyment to the community and many visitors passing through.

John said, “We're working really hard on the carriage house and a team is actually working and painting it now. Three guest rooms will be available upstairs, and downstairs will be a kitchen, living room and game room. We'll have a couple cabins open next spring.

“We're planning on purchasing a big party tent and do some events and will make an announcement soon on that. We'd like to get a band, food truck and invite anyone that would like to come up and enjoy a day of memories and the beautiful views and also see what we're doing here,” he added.

Judy said, “The scenic views and the well-kept gardens, all the things it already has, it makes for a beautiful sight for pavilion events and cabins. We have our LLC and are retaining the Silo part of it; we are going to be The Silo Retreat.”

“We want to keep the sign on 206 and just take the word 'restaurant' out and turn it into 'retreat.' We have a friend we've asked to look at it, he's a great woodworker and he'll see if he can fix it up and maintain it as it is,” she added.

Keeping it as original as possible,” John said. “We've had people that want to come to work here, help run it, bands want to play here and the interest is high and word hasn't even gotten out yet.”

John explained, “The whole thing to me is, it's a perfect spot for what we want to do, and it's about the memories and honoring the 50 years that Kurz owned the restaurant. We want to keep it going because so many people come up to us or message us and say, 'I had my anniversary there, Mother's Day, comedy shows, I had my high school prom there, I got married there.' And they want to come stay here because of the memories.”

The Hinmans said they're thinking of expanding the property as they have nearly 100 acres to work with, and are considering putting in walking trails and places for people to sit around and have barbecues, keeping it open for enjoyment and relaxation.

“One of our lasting memories we have of the Silo Restaurant was an anniversary dinner and we took a selfie with Gary [Kurz]. Previous to that, every couple of weeks we would have dinner there and Gary would try and scare John by sneaking up behind him, and then he'd sit and have dinner with us. He always made us feel like we were family. I think that's what he did with all of the guests,” Judy said.

“After the Silo burned down, it took us over a year to actually come up here because it was such a devastating loss. And when we drove up we found the flower beds were still being maintained and that people cared enough to continue with the landscaping. It looked almost like when the restaurant was still here. It was neat to see that people kept up the property even after the restaurant was gone,” said John.

John said when the time came to look for a property to build on, they searched but nothing took. It was when his wife Judy brought up the Silo property and wondered what was going on there that the idea started to take shape.

“We stood at the property and gave Kurz a call. Kurz said he had three other couples looking to purchase the property and he was coming up over the weekend, so he was meeting with them and said he would schedule a time to meet with us, too,” John said.

“We wrote out a business plan of what we proposed to do with the property, what we would offer, how we would take care of the property taxes and insurance and all of that. So we had a good, solid business plan to show him during our lunch meeting,” Judy said. “He liked our plan and decided to sell the property to us.”

Former owner of The Silo Restaurant property Gary Kurz said, “I've known John and Judy for about 15 years or so. They've been good friends and customers of the Silo, and that's how I met them initially.”

“When we met, they had a good business plan. I liked the foresight they put into it and I really didn't see another restaurant being built there, the way it was. It wouldn't have been easy to build another restaurant there. It would have been a big big undertaking,” said Kurz. “I think what they're doing is a big undertaking as well, but I like the whole idea, calling it the Silo Retreat and the cabins, and the pavilion for parties and weddings. I like it.”

“I'm still devastated over the loss of the Silo. It was my life for 49 years: I raised my children there, my wife worked there for a while, and it really was a loss of my life. It was and still is very difficult,” he added.

Kurz said, “I would like people to enjoy the beautiful views and landscaping that is still there for their memories for weddings and parties. And I hope the cabins will be well taken care of and enjoyed by the people that rent them. I think it's going to be a great escape for people, and that's my hope. The Silo was a great escape for many people.”