Mandi McKinzie said it was faith and a deep personal connection that led her and her husband Robert to purchase the Alexander Hotel and Alice Theatre in Leitchfield in 2021.
“My husband is from Kansas, but I would tell him about the memories that I had in the building, and it was just a staple in the community when we were young,” McKinzie said. “This is where we had breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We watched a movie every weekend, and then when my parents got divorced, my dad actually lived in the hotel after that for a while, so this was home, too.”
The buildings opened in 1935, named after the children of the original owners, but the buildings had been vacant since 2013. McKinzie says the last three years have consisted mostly of blood, sweat, and tears, but also joy.
“We went into it with one budget in mind, and that budget doubled,” McKinzie said. “We’ve literally used our retirement money, but we don’t have any regrets because it’s what we know we were supposed to do, and we’ve done it, and we just hope that our community loves it as much as we do.”
The effort that the McKinzies have devoted the time, money, and energy to is coming to fruition. Rooms at the Alexander Hotel are now available for booking on Airbnb, and the first official event at the revived Alice Theatre, a performance by Papa Bear and the Love Den, will take place on May 16.
McKinzie says the efforts were all worth it to be part of a revival in Downtown Leitchfield and to keep the tradition alive for future generations.
“I have two grandbabies, and I want the square, our little historic square, to be as lively as it was when I was a kid growing up, and so that’s my hope, and I think it’s catching fire around here because we have had lots of people investing in our community, especially in the downtown square,” McKinzie said.
The Grayson County Chamber of Commerce will celebrate the downtown development on May 17 with a ribbon cutting ceremony for Elmore’s Big 7 Furniture at 11 a.m. followed by a ribbon cutting for the hotel and theater at 11:30 a.m. Find the Alexander Hotel and Alice Theatre on Facebook for more information.
