Annie's Inn in Montmorenci gets new owners, offers same charm

Landon Stamper, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

May 28—Annie's Inn has been a staple in Montmorenci for decades, and now a new family is running the show.

Sharon and Glenn DeHart came to stay at the inn recently, located at 3083 Charleston Highway, and they noticed that the building was for sale. The DeHarts had a wonderful stay and enjoyed meeting the owners, Dallas and Scottie Ruark; they decided to purchase the place.

Along with their daughter, Ashten Eudy and her husband Frank, the family is excited to get into the bed and breakfast business.

"It's important that we keep the history, and I feel like it's a staple in Aiken," Ashten said. "Everybody knows Annie's Inn and everybody, since they found out we're taking it over, has been so excited."

"(Ruark) was excited to see another family come in here and work it together," said Frank. "I think people like the charm of a family-run business. You've got so many big-box stores and hotels nowadays, and it's nice to have the charm of this place that it has already."

The structure housing Annie's Inn was originally built in the early 1800s as a three-story Greek Revival plantation home. During the Civil War, a cannonball fired during a battle took out the building's third floor.

When it was rebuilt, only two stories were constructed and it was designed in an antebellum style, hence the name Annie's Inn.

"It's a historical home," Ashten said. "One thing that's really cool about us taking it over is Glenn is a builder, and my mom decorates and designs homes with him. They're very good at keeping the charm and character and everything that's really important to us."

"So, we're going to be making not many changes, but the upkeep and everything, it's going to be in really good hands."

The family said the cottages are currently being rented out and the bedrooms in the main house will become available in due time as they finish setting everything up. They're also looking forward to hosting events on the property, such as weddings and baby showers.

"It's been fun since we decided to buy it," Sharon said. "We have so many friends who will tell us, 'Oh, I stayed there 20 years ago when I was building my home,' and a lot of people are familiar with it. We have people call and say, 'Hey, I want to come on such-and-such date and be in room 4. I want my usual room.' They have people that come every year and we're excited about that."

For more information, visit anniesinnbnb.com.