Willow Place Inn, which closed last fall, has been sold and is expected to reopen

The Auberge Willow Place Inn, an iconic institution in Hudson that closed last fall, has been sold and is expected to reopen for business this year.

The new owners are David Ades and Patricia Wenzel, a Town of Mont Royal couple who recently finalized the purchase from Michel Poirier who had closed the Hudson landmark on Main Road at the end of October.

On Tuesday, Wenzel said they are still planning the relaunch of the Willow.

“We are working on some details right now. We just purchased it,” she said. “We hope to reopen in the future, but don’t know when. We want to do some renovations.

“We still have to discuss and figure out what we are doing,” she added.

Mayor Ed Prévost’s announcement of the Willow’s sale was greeted with cheers from residents attending the town council meeting Monday night.

“There is no doubt about it. People associate Hudson with the Willow,” the mayor said. “It’s attracted people from outside the town. It’s a beautiful area in terms of scenery.

“We are absolutely delighted (it’s been sold). It’ll give vibrancy that we are seeking to develop in Hudson. It will help us achieve that,” he added.

The town will have some work to with the regards to the relaunch of the Willow, such as connecting the facility, which currently relies on a septic tank, to the municipal

sewage system, Prévost said.

“The septic tank is inadequate to look after the needs of the Willow on a long-term basis,” he said, adding that a 400 metre pipe needs to be installed to connect the business to the sewage system.

The new owners may also consider expanding the inn, which would have to be studied and approved by the town, the mayor said, adding it’s possible some zoning bylaws may have to be amended. As well, a demolition permit will likely be requested for an abandoned home which lies on the west side of the Willow property, he added.

Poirier had initially acquired the Willow with two partners in 2013

and became the sole owner of the business about two years later. Last year, Poirier, 69, with sights on retirement, sold off his Hudson and St-Lazare IGA grocery stores which he had owned for decades.

Before it closed, the Willow operated a dining room, a pub section, an outdoor waterfront terrace and nine bedrooms in the inn proper, as well as an adjacent lot and building known as the Anchorage.

While the Willow has a history dating back to 1820, first used as a home, then as a store before becoming a hotel and pub, the main building was destroyed by fire in 1989 and then re-built within a year to match the original style.