In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, a cornerstone of downtown Perry has announced it will be closing its doors indefinitely.

Starting today, Hotel Pattee will not be accepting room reservations until the 2019 novel coronavirus threat has diminished. Owner Tom Maxwell told Raccoon Valley Radio that he feels temporarily closing the historic hotel is the logical course of action, though he didn’t arrive at it lightly. “It’s obviously a tough decision, but hopefully this is a temporary issue. Of all the industries impacted, the hotel industry is one of the more serious industries that’s being impacted right now. People are told to stay home, they’re not really instructed to travel or stay in hotels. So obviously we hope this ends as quickly as possible, we had a lot of events and important things booked in (the) April and May timeline. So hopefully we all get back to normal very, very soon!”

Maxwell adds, the restaurant will remain open for pick-up only while the hotel is closed, and he hopes people will take advantage of that service. Visitors to Perry will still be able to stay at the Super 8 Hotel, though the owners at Wyndham Hotels say they will have reduced amenities and staff as a result of the virus concerns.