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HALLTON, Pa. (EYT) – The Hallton Hilton is now open with limited hours thanks to the nieces of John B. Handley – Melissa Bush and Laura Oknefski of Ridgway.

(Photos courtesy of Pete Denio.)

A grand opening is still being planned, but in the meantime, hours are Thursday from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Friday from 5:00 p.m. to ?, and Saturday from 2:00 p.m. to ?.

“We’re waiting for a liquor license for Sunday operations, and the hours are subject to change,” said Melissa. “We will have French fries, belly busters, and Hallton Hotties (hot dog with sauce). Right now the food selection is limited because all of us have been so busy.”

The nieces had to gut nearly everything inside and remodel.

“We kept it simple,” said Melissa. “We had artist Shelly Caggiano paint the birds back on the ceiling, kept the old stone liquor case to hold our liquor, kept the archway, and scrubbed the table and chairs Uncle John used, and are now using them with the new red checkered tablecloths over them like he had.”

“We also kept the Saint Polly girl and the old signs and cash register, but hope people will respect everything that’s been done and not vandalize it with sharpies. Uncle Johnny didn’t like it when they just did it, and we don’t want that either.”  

The nieces hope everyone likes the changes, and there are still other plans for the business. 

Restoring it was a labor of love.

“We wanted to keep as much of the old charm we could salvage, so people will have a place to go to remember Uncle Johnny and all those memories plus create new,” said Melissa. “We want to satisfy everyone.”

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