The Hubbell House continues its march through history

Touring the labyrinthine dining rooms of The Hubbell House in Mantorville, the sheer weight of the building’s history presses down on you from seemingly every wall. From the moment you enter the iconic restaurant, you’re confronted with historical relics and photographs that chronicle both the timeless building itself  as well as the communities that radiate out and around the former stagecoach route hotel.

Even the exterior of the building tells a historical tale, such as the original limestone façade dating back to the hotel’s reconstruction back in 1856—the first Hubbell House was a two room log structure built in 1854. The carved “HUBBELL’S HOTEL” sign adds its own historical charm, as does the “FALLOUT SHELTER” sign affixed to the wall right next to it. Yes,  sometime in the 1960s, The Hubbell House basement was designated a genuine fallout shelter, complete with stored food rations and a Geiger counter. So, in the event of a nuclear holocaust, The Hubbell House definitely would have been the place to be in Dodge County.

Alaina Pappas, who has been managing the restaurant since taking over the position’s many responsibilities from her father, Don Pappas, about a year ago, said: “There’s literally so much history here, I don’t even know the stories behind all of it.”

That’s not to say Alaina doesn’t have her own personal history with the building. She pointed out that she was brought home to the Hubbell House from the hospital after she was born. In addition to practically growing up at the restaurant, she also started bussing tables when she was 13, and moved into waitressing at 17.

“I wouldn’t know what my life would be like without the Hubbell House,” she said. “Whenever I look around, I can remember all sorts of moments from my life growing up here. But, when it comes to a lot of the stuff on the walls, I still have to ask my dad.”

Indeed, when Don—who still owns the business—sat down to join our conversation, he immediately started filling in some of the blanks regarding his family’s own history behind the building’s acquisition and evolution. 

In the late 1930s, the aging structure was almost slated to become one of many Depression-era demolition projects, but the former hotel was saved from the wrecking ball in 1939 by Mantorville resident Walter Stussy. Stussy played only a limited role in developing the property, using it mostly as a boarding house for his workers from the nearby quarry.

As World War II came to a close, Don’s father, Paul Pappas—a captain in the U.S. Army, who had served in the Phillipines—had aspirations to open his own restaurant.

“When he was in the service, he was stationed for a time in