Country Hearth Inn Celebrates Grand Re-Opening

Local officials gather to celebrate a new beginning for an area hotel.

The Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday for the Country Hearth Inn, which is located just off of Broad Street in downtown Toccoa.

New owners Amarin Capital re-opened the hotel a few weeks ago after completely renovating the hotel.

Toccoa Mayor Terry Carter said the re-opening of the Country Hearth Inn is great news for the city.

“It is a good day,” said Carter. “For so long, we have been needing a quality hotel that our residents can stay in as opposed to going to Habersham (County) or Lavonia, so it is exciting that someone had taken this property, has invested in it, and made it a quality hotel we can be proud of.”

Amarin Capital closed the Country Hearth Inn back in May following an inspection by city officials and the Stephens County Health Department in order to upgrade the facility to get it in adequate condition.

The President and CEO of Amarin Capital, Mario Sarkis, said crews lived at the hotel for three weeks to completely renovate it and bring it up to par.

Carter said conducting those inspections has paid off for the city.

“This is a pleasant byproduct of that,” said Carter. “Had that not happened, I do not think we would be here today.”

Hotel inspections by the city of Toccoa and Stephens County Health Department closed five facilities back in the Spring for not meeting necessary regulations.

Of those five, the Country Hearth Inn is the first one to re-open.

Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse said the other four remain closed, though renovations are underway on both the Budget Inn and the Toccoa Motel, along Currahee Street.