Midmark to rebuild the Inn at Versailles

Historic inn suffered extensive fire damage and closed last year.

Dayton-area maker and provider of medical, dental and veterinary equipment is pledging a new era for the historic Darke County inn.

The historic, 20-room inn in downtown Versailles was closed last October after suffering extensive damage in a large fire.

Now, Midmark Corp., a Dayton-area maker and provider of medical, dental and veterinary equipment, is pledging a new era for the Darke County inn.

The company Wednesday announced plans to rebuild The Inn at Versailles, complete with a hotel and restaurant.

Midmark also purchased adjacent properties, including the building to the north, formerly Best Bite Grill, and the building to the West, formerly Didier’s Hardware. Both properties will be included in the reconstruction process, Midmark said.

“We hope the reconstruction of the hotel, together with the restaurant, further stimulates economic vitality and growth in Versailles as well as the surrounding communities,” John Baumann, Midmark president and chief executive, said in the company’s statement. “We are excited to move forward with our plans to rebuild the Inn for both Midmark and the Versailles community; for today and our future generations.”

The design for the new hotel and restaurant is well underway, and construction fencing will be placed on the property in the next week, the company said.

Midmark did not offer a timeline on the project nor say what its investment in the project will be. A Midmark representative could not say what the company’s investment in the project will be, but she said a media advisory for a planned demolition at the site and more information will be offered soon.

For updates on the project’s progress, Midmark is pointing the curious to The Inn at Versailles page on Facebook.

After decades of operation, the Inn closed in 1989 before Midmark bought the property three years later and opened it in 1994 as The Inn at Versailles. Its restaurant became Michael Anthony’s at the Inn.

How quickly the historic inn would reopen was dependent on how aggressive its ownership was in repairing it, Versailles Fire Chief Brian Pearson said last year, after the four-alarm call-out that involved multiple surrounding fire departments.

Based at Austin Landing in Miami Twp., Midmark has a large manufacturing presence and long history in Versailles.

Midmark has pledged to rebuild the historic, 20-room Inn at Versailles, which was closed last October after suffering extensive damage in a large fire. The design for the new hotel and restaurant is underway.