The new owner of the Comfort Inn is defending himself against allegations made by a restaurant tenant in the last edition of the Marietta Register. Mahesh Nichani purchased the foreclosure property earlier this year and since May has embarked on $1 million in improvements to the facility in anticipation of a November 20 grand re-opening.
 

Steve Peters, the owner of River City Tavern and Grill, expressed that his business at the hotel has been hurt by the ongoing construction. He also alleged in a letter sent to city officials that Nichani was using undocumented workers to perform the improvements.
 

Nichani claims that the allegations raised by Peters are false.
 

“We have no undocumented workers here,” Nichani said. “It looks like he is going by the color of the skin of the people working here.”
 

Nichani says he has people of almost every race employed at the hotel in one capacity or another.
 

Nichani is using some local contractors to perform a portion of the work at the hotel. But, some of the questions raised by Peters about other workers haven’t been entirely answered. A general contractor out of Dayton has not responded to requests for information about its employees.
 

Some local business people believe the allegations made by Peters are out of line under the circumstances.
 

“It’s incredibly beautiful what has been done inside there,” said Charlotte Keim, president of the Marietta Area Chamber of Commerce. “It’s very tasteful and has been beautifully done. It’s very attractive.”
 

Keim says she wishes Nichani much success with his new endeavor.
 

“I think we should all be commending him for contributing to the community,” Keim said.
 

Nichani says his intent is to provide Marietta with a nice looking facility complete with banquet rooms and convention space to accommodate groups of all sizes. He said the franchise agreement mandates improvements, but he has attempted to go beyond the requirements to provide Marietta with “one of its nicest looking buildings”.
 

For his part, Nichani said Peters was one month behind on his $12,000 a month rent – a point that Peters acknowledges to be true. Peters has asked for a rent reduction, he says to compensate for the loss of 24 of the best seats in the restaurant, which were removed during the course of construction.
 

While Peters suggested that Nichani was trying to run him out so he could operate the restaurant as well as the hotel, Nichani said that such an idea was a “nightmare” for him.
 

“I have practically no restaurant experience,” Nichani said. “I run hotels. I have three hotels that I own. I would rather have him pay his rent.”
 

The hotel owner claimed he was making concessions to Peters and waiving commissions due in order to help the restaurant be more successful.
 

Even so, Nichani made an offer on the restaurant.
 

“I have given a lot of work to local people and intend to bring more business here,” Nichani said of his efforts.
 

Peters maintains his claims that his business at that location wasn’t suffering until construction began in May. As evidence, he points to a fourth location opened this year in Mineral Wells.
 

At press time Nichani and Peters confirmed to the Marietta Register that a deal had been reached for Nichani to purchase the restaurant.