TRAVELERS INN

Amainstay in downtown Alexandria, Travelers Inn has been open since 1926. Travelers Inn offers down-home cooking with unforgettable breakfast options, scratch soups, deluxe sandwiches, slow-cooked meats, world-class salad bar, famous caramel and cinnamon rolls and so much more.

QWho are the current owners and how long have they been in business?

ATravelers Inn is currently owned by Patrick Sieve. I bought it Jan. 1, 2022, from my father Jonathan Sieve.

QWho started the business and what year did it begin?

And who are all the previous owners of the business and what are the relationships between the owners?

ABack in 1924, a man by the name of Thomas Rose purchased Travelers Inn and was described as “an experienced restaurant man” having been in the business for the past 25 years. He and his wife, Magdalena, ran the restaurant until the mid 1940s when they sold it to Harold and Lorna Anderson. The Andersons ran it until the mid 1960s when it was sold to my grandparents, Ben and Helen Sieve, in 1967. They were already running The Grill Cafe in Long Prairie at the time. It remained in the family when Jon, my father, and Kurt, my uncle, took it over in 1972. They had many remodels and expansions and they both had about 100 boys and they shaped the Travelers Inn that we see today into what it is. I moved back from San Diego in 2014 to settle in and call Alexandria home once again.

QAs the current owners, why was it important to you to keep the family business going?

AAs the current owner, it is important to be a steward of those people and all of the hard work that has come in the many years before I took over. This place has provided so much to so many. It means so much to so many. It’s versatile. There can be five ladies from the class of ‘57 eating right next to an intense business meeting eating next to a prayer group eating next to the high school hockey team. It’s remarkable.

QWhat impact, do you feel, a generational business has on our community?

AThe impact generational businesses have, especially in our community, is tremendous. There is a trust factor when you’re dealing with family businesses in a city of our size. In our case, we didn’t survive all of these years by putting out substandard food and with a big price tag. It’s the exact opposite in fact. We’ve developed such a trust factor with our guests that they know when they come here, the food is gonna be delicious and the bill is gonna be very reasonable. If you look across this community and see businesses that are transitioning to future generations, it’s very comforting, as a citizen, that the familiarity factor will be around for years to come. Our community is growing by leaps and bounds BUT preserving long-standing businesses through generations will ensure we keep the hometown feel we all love about Alexandria.

QWhat are the biggest challenges/rewards of owning a generational business?

AOne of the biggest challenges facing this particular family business going forward is changing with the ever-changing dietary wants and needs. We continue to offer new and exciting dishes and are pushing the envelope every year. Another challenge is the changing of the guard. As my father did before me, shifting business models to pave the way for future generations of eaters was priority No. 1.

The rewarding parts of being at Travelers Inn will always be the people. I know everyone says it but we literally have the best staff in America. Locking arms and kicking ass with this group brings me much joy and pride. It’s also very rewarding that the community is so invested in not only the restaurant, but my life personally. I field so many questions about my children and even bring them down here sometimes to set tables and the look on our guests’ faces is a sense of pride. They are as proud of this place as I am that it’s in OUR community and will remain so for many years to come.