LENOX — The Candle Light Inn has closed for business after being sold to a Connecticut couple for $1,015,000 on Tuesday.
William and Suzanne Dakin bought the landmark property at the corner of Church and Main streets from long-time owner Rebecca Hedgecock of Lenox, according to documents at the Central Berkshire Registry of Deeds.
William Dakin, reached yesterday at the inn, said he preferred not to comment on his plans for the building, but it is believed he will return it to a private residence, which it was when it was originally built in 1885.
Hedgecock who will maintain her private residence in Lenox, said she plans to take a few months off and visit her children.
“Then I’m going to clean out my garage,†she said.
A Lenox landmark for many years, the large white building was originally built and occupied by the Bishop family. They moved on to grander estates in the Lenox area in the early 1900s, and since then the property has been used for a variety of purposes. During the 1950s, General Electric Co. housed bachelor workers for its Pittsfield plant there. Later, the building was sold to people who put it to use in the hospitality industry.
Beginning in the early ’60s, it became a restaurant known as Chef Carl’s. It then became the Toby Jug restaurant and bar and later was run as an inn by Jimmy and Lynne DeMayo, who named it the Candle Light and turned it into a hotspot for tourists. The DeMayos made many improvements to the building, enclosed the porches and constructed an outside courtyard to accommodate a steadily growing number of guests.
During the mid 1980s, the Candle Light received much attention as a highly regarded destination for tourists and was frequently reviewed by big-city food editors, who gave glowing reports on the quality of the food and accommodations. Robert Redford and other stars could be occasionally glimpsed enjoying a meal on the porch or having a drink at the bar.
In 1988, the DeMayos sold the historic building to Hedgecock and went on to open the Lenox 218 restaurant on Main Street, which remains open for business and is still owned by the family. Hedgecock continued to run the Candle Light as an inn and restaurant for the next 16 years, until she sold it Tuesday.
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North Adams Mans Admits to B&Es
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A city man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a string of breaking and entering incidents this week and was sentenced to 18 months in the House of Corrections.
Christopher Jelley, 36, was picked up on Liberty Street early Wednesday morning after breaking into Freight Yard Pub and stealing several bottles of liquor, according to a report posted on Facebook by interim Police Chief Mark Bailey.
Police had been investigating several break-ins, beginning Monday morning about 3 a.m. when someone was observed on CCTV throwing a rock through the front door window of Dave's Package Store on River Street. The individual took cartons of cigarettes and cigarette lighters.
The suspect was identified by the footage as Christopher Jelley.
On Wednesday, at approximately 12:45 a.m., the police were told by witnesses that they had seen a man wearing a hooded sweat shirt trying to break into EZ Mart on Ashland Street. Two rocks were found outside the store by officers and the front door glass was broken. There was no entry into the store.
A short time later while checking the area, officers found the glass front door of Whitney's Beverage Shop on American Legion Drive had been broken. There was a brick found on the ground in front of the store. The was no entry into the store.
Then at about 1:10 a.m., the dispatch center received a breaking and entering alarm at the restaurant. Officers responded and found that the front door window had been smashed out but could not locate anyone inside.
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Pittsfield High's Matt Dupuis and Lee's Devyn Fillio Sunday won the boys and girls individual high school bowling State Championships at Spare Time.
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