Natchez, Miss. — Thursday morning, Natchez officials announced what they have been hinting at since before Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson’s State of the City address in July — a project to revive the Eola is underway.
The project has been labelled Project Phoenix, which is symbolic of the once-popular luxury hotel “rising from the ashes,” Gibson said during a Thursday morning press conference.
Groundbreaking for the renovation of the Eola Hotel in downtown Natchez is predicted to take place within the first quarter of 2022, the Natchez Democrat reported.
Endeavour Corp. is the event group behind the project. Virginia Attorney Robert Lubin bought the Eola in 2014 and retains partial ownership.
Hayes Dent is president of Public Strategies and an affiliate of Endeavour. Dent mentioned he and Endeavour owner Randy Roth have been working with a major hotel chain to make the project possible, however didn’t name the chain.
The group has also partnered with Kevin Preston of the Magnolia Bluffs Casino & Hotel. Dickie Brennan, the owner of Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse in New Orleans, will be in charge of food and beverage operations at the new Eola.
The Eola was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The hotel reached its height of popularity within the early 1930s when Natchez began pilgrimage tours of antebellum homes. It ceased operating as a hotel in 2014.
