Trolley running between Rochester, Mantorville

Beginning last Thursday, a trolley made its first of many trips from the Hilton Hotel in Rochester to the Hubbell House in Mantorville. The trolley will make the trip every Thursday evening for the rest of the year except for Thanksgiving Day.

The trolley arrives in Mantorville at least an hour before the passengers are scheduled to dine at the Hubbell House. This gives them time to shop at the local businesses before they have dinner. Most Mantorville businesses are staying open to 7 p.m. on the nights the trolley runs.

Several Rochester hotels are promoting the trolley because it provides their guests with an opportunity to experience Historic Mantorville. The trolley is based at the Hilton in downtown Rochester. Guests from other hotels go to the Hilton to board the trolley.

Not all the passengers are hotel guests. Members of the Rochester community can also use the trolley for their journey to Mantorville. The trolley ride itself is free for the passengers. Their only cost is what they decide to buy while in Mantorville.

When the trolley arrives at the Hubbell House, the visitors are greeted by members of the Mantorville Restoration Association, dressed in period costumes. Some of the guests have already determined which stores they want to see, and they head out to explore as soon as they step off the trolley. Other guests stay by the trolley and ask the greeters many questions about Mantorville.

The first trolley was last week and it was not full. This week’s trolley was fully reserved as of last Sunday. The passengers can reserve their seats weeks in advance. So, we already know, based on reservations, that some Thursdays will need two trolleys.

The idea for the trolley rides to Mantorville was inspired by the management team at the Hubbell House. When the Mantorville Chamber of Commerce got wind of what was in the works, the Chamber’s approached the Hubbell House and asked to get involved. The Hubbell House welcomed the Chambers participation.

Bob Yanish, the General Manager at the HH has been meeting with me several times a week. From the beginning of our discussions, Bob wanted to make sure the trolley project would benefit the whole community. For example, the HH volunteered to allow the passengers enough time to shop in Mantorville before dinner. The Chamber approached the Mantorville Economic Development Authority and requested the EDA’s support for the trolley project. The EDA agreed to fund the first 10 weeks of the trolley’s operation. When the Mantorville Restoration Association heard about the plan to bring trolleys to Mantorville, the MRA agreed to provide greeters along with information packets for the passengers.

I am extremely impressed with how the many Mantorville organizations and businesses have come together to support the trolley project. I am particularly impressed with Mantorville’s EDA. They have a long history of supporting Mantorville tourism and the city’s festivals. This time the EDA stepped outside the box and made it possible to test the trolley idea.

Now that the project is off to a good start, there is chatter up and down the streets of Mantorville about having trolleys come to town more than one night a week and about having some trolley day trips. However, before the trolley project can be expanded, some decisions need to be made about long term funding for the trolleys. Meetings to evaluate the project will be scheduled for late December and early January.

If you know someone that would like to use the trolley, they can register online. Just Google “trolley to Mantorville” and click the listing for Eventbrite. The Hubbell House is sponsoring the registration system with Eventbrite. The Hubbell house has also underwritten the cost of all advertising for the trolleys. The HH together with the marketing team at Powers Ventures has coordinated the activities with the Rochester hotels.

As president of the Mantorville Chamber of Commerce, I must admit that when I first heard that a Rochester restaurant corporation had bought the Hubbell House from the Pappas family, I was worried. I was concerned that a corporation from a large city would not understand the needs of Mantorville. I quickly learned that my concerns were not called for.

Powers Ventures is not your typical corporation. They are a family business with feelings for and an interest in the needs of the Mantorville community.

Before the HH reopened, the Powers family stepped forward and catered our annual Chamber of Commerce dinner and they did this at a substantial discount. When I told Joey Powers about the annual Easter Egg hunt in Mantorville, he volunteered to provide free Bunnie Cake samples to everyone at the hunt. Now, as we look for ways to increase traffic for Mantorville businesses, the Powers family has stepped forward again and is using the Hubbell House to draw visitors to Mantorville in a way that helps the whole community.   

Terry Eckstein is a Mantorville businessman and president of the Mantorville Chamber of Commerce.

PHOTO:  Adventures  in Kasson Mantorville Terry Eckstein