South Pier Inn 20th Anniversary Open House

South Pier Inn Hotel on Park Point is celebrating 20 years in business with an open house and the announcement of a new hospitality and building trades scholarship fund.

The property that the hotel sits on had an old house, garage, dumped cement blocks and was overgrown with weeds when the Sola family of Park Point purchased it in the late 1990s. Steven, Rand, Dale and Betty Sola, along with hotel staff, provided hospitality leadership that led to the property being awarded Best Small Hotel in Minnesota by the Minnesota Lodging Association, and AAA’s Best of Housekeeping Award just last year, among other accolades.

Dale and Betty Sola are establishing a scholarship fund, administered by the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, for students seeking post-secondary education in hospitality or the building trades. The initial $20,000 scholarship fund will provide ongoing $2,500 scholarships to address workforce shortages in these fields.