Some feared the historical Kemp Hotel would face the same fate as the Zimmerman mansion in Maxatawny Township, but the former restaurant on Kutztown Road was saved by a Kutztown business owner.

A dumpster at the front of the house was little indication of what actually lay inside. With cautious steps, we made our way through each room downstairs and up. There were gaping holes around the window frames, rubble across the floor, an area where the ceiling tile belied storm damage and a damp cold that made the old building more frigid than the February chill outside. It was a scene many people would have run from, but for Brandi Woodard, it was the kind of work she put into past renovations.

“I love the place. It’s going to be wonderful, but the damage is a little bit more than I thought it was. We’re getting a lot of volunteer people who are coming to help us and that’s keeping costs down so far,” said Woodard, owner of the Yoga House in Kutztown. “I’m going to have to pay for everything else, but at least the trash out isn’t costing me anything. We’ve been here about a month trashing this place out.”