My Hometown Is Your ‘Home Away From Home’
The former Microtel has a new name and a new outlook as Hometown Inn & Suites.
By MARIAHA DOZA
ste. genevieve herald
On a chilly Monday morning, I had the pleasure of walking through the doors of the new Hometown Inn & Suites to speak with the General Manager, Sabrina Ford. Previously known as the Microtel, this place gave me flashbacks of my childhood when I remember it being built.
The former owner, Ron Armbruster, owned Microtel from 1999-2022 and decided it was time to retire.
Like a vortex that draws you back in, Ste. Genevieve has a way of bringing all the locals back from their ventures far, far away. That is exactly what happened to Sabrina. She was born and raised in Ste. Genevieve and then left. Twelve years ago, she got her calling to come back home to work at Microtel. This proved to be the right move for her because, in 2015, she became general manager of Microtel.
After Armbruster decided to retire, he placed Microtel on the market and it was quickly snatched up by Patel & Verma LLC. Patel and Verma took ownership on Oct. 14, 2022 and Microtel became Hometown Inn & Suites. With the exception of ownership and the new name, everything stayed the same, including the same management and staff.
Patel & Verma LLC have owned hotels since the 1980s. With their first hotel being just an hour away in Cape Girardeau, they saw the Microtel for sale and decided to capture the entire heartland. Unlike other motels and hotels, this is not a chain company. However, there is a possibility for growth. For now, the main focus at Hometown is to become completely independent before branching out.
So, where did the name come from? Sabrina, Patel, and Verma put their heads together. With a mutual collaboration and agreement, the three came up with the name of Hometown Inn & Suites. Sabrina adored the name because it is, in fact, in her hometown of Ste. Genevieve.
But,
