The Petersburg Indian Association is now in the hospitality business with its purchase of the 45-room Tides Inn hotel and Highliner Car Rental from a longtime Petersburg family.
“My sisters and I are very pleased with the conclusion of the sale of the Tides Inn and Highliner Car Rental to the Petersburg Indian Association,” Dave Ohmer said in a written statement. “The Ohmer family started doing business in Petersburg in 1916, and it is wonderful to now be selling the Tides Inn and Highliner to an organization whose families were here long before our Grandfather Earl arrived.”
The tribal organization purchased the businesses and real estate for $1.75 million, using federal COVID-era relief and economic development funds.
“The PIA Council is very excited to be the proud owners of this very successful and long-established business that has been well maintained and managed by the Ohmer family for many years,” the council announced in a prepared statement Aug. 19.
“We were not in the market to buy a hotel and a car rental operation. The opportunity presented itself ... and it was just a good investment,” PIA Tribal Council President Debra O'Gara said.
The businesses are expected to generate dependable, flexible revenue for the tribe, which receives much of its funding from the federal government with conditions attached. But the new revenue stream was not the only attraction to buying the Tides Inn.
The tribal council said it looks forward to exploring the possibility of job training, providing cultural education and experiences for visitors and space for Indigenous art demonstrations, as some examples of potential long-term goals.
“Pencil has not hit the paper yet,” for these ideas, O’Gara said. The council does not plan any immediate changes at the Tides Inn. But brainstorming potential opportunities to support tribal citizens and the community “is what we were really excited about.”
The new owners are a good fit, Ohmer said. “Both parties love Petersburg, take great pride in Petersburg ... and their vision was very much what the vision of Tides Inn has been ... it was easy to put the relationship together.”
After their mother Gloria Ohmer, who owned and operated the business for more than 40 years passed away, the Ohmer siblings began to consider the future of the Tides Inn. “With her passing last year and all of us kids getting older, it seemed like it was something to start talking about passing along,” said Dave Ohmer.
Conversations with PIA took root last winter, and after spending time working out the details and reaching an agreement with the Ohmers, the sale was made official this month.
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