Downtown B&B well-received, even if it’s only partially open

LEWISTON — Reviews for the Inn at Agora, the bed and breakfast across the street from Kennedy Park, are great — even though it’s only partially open.

The bed and breakfast began taking guests, three at a time, in the fall. It’s part of the ongoing renovations at the old St. Patrick’s Parish and it’s adjoining the rectory that developer Andrew Knight purchased last year.

“We are partially open, and we are still waiting for a variety things to open,” Knight said. “The main thing, we are waiting for our sprinkler system and an alarm.”

Knight purchased the old church in 2013 with plans for an event center. He said he hopes to have his renovation plan for the event center, to be housed in the main building of the church, approved early this year.

But the bed and breakfast came first, taking its first guests in September. There is still work going on, and crews should finish installing the fire safety equipment before the end of January. Until then, the inn can only host three guests at a time.

“In principle, we can have up to two rooms open at a time, but we should have up to seven rooms available when we get the sprinklers ready,” Knight said.

That hasn’t kept people from finding it, according to Manager Jan Barrett.

“We’ve had lots of business-traveler types,” she said. “The Bates (College) people have found us and we’ve had some great reviews.”

The inn has received five-star ratings on Trip Advisor.com from seven guests.

“People love the history of the place, the location and the fact that it’s downtown,” she said. “A lot of people locally were very skeptical about having this downtown. But people from out of town don’t see the neighborhood the way some of the locals do.”

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