NATCHEZ — It’s been a while since a wild party was hosted at the Eola Hotel. But looking through the windows, you might think one happened last night.

Empty drinking glasses litter the tables, and cloth napkins rest atop chairs — as if someone just left their seat for a moment, and never returned.

“It’s kind of creepy,” said Peyton Cowan, who works across the street from the hotel at Slick Rick’s Foods.

Cowan said tourists often ask why the Eola’s doors are closed.

Cowan said she has somewhat of a script ready — a quick explanation for the why the hotel is no longer in use.

“I have to explain to them that the Eola Hotel is now the Guest House,” Cowan said, referring to the 16-room hotel on North Pearl Street. “Why the actual Eola is closed, I don’t know.”

Cowan isn’t the only resident wondering why the cornerstone of Natchez’s downtown hasn’t seen a party, let alone a guest, since it closed in December of last year when Virginia-based attorney Robert Lubin purchased it.

Donna Ball, owner of Pearl Street Pasta on South Pearl Street, said there has been a noticeable decrease in her restaurant business since the Eola closed.

“I think everyone in public service downtown definitely misses that extra foot traffic,” Ball said. “Not having that hotel in the heart of downtown, it’s affected us.”

Owning a restaurant on the same street as the hotel, Ball also said she kept her eyes on the hotel’s neglect.

“It’s really sad to see a historic property not be maintained,” she said. “I’m looking at it right now, and I can see every balcony door is wide open. Birds are flying in.”

A few streets over from the Eola, King’s Tavern restaurant owner Regina Charboneau said she would like to see the hotel back in business as soon as possible.

“If they had some luxury apartments, that would be great, but they really need to take a few floors and put in some hotel rooms,” Charboneau said. “A downtown hotel gives us a lot of business.”

People who stay at a hotel, Charboneau said, typically want to eat somewhere authentic to the area.

Downtown restaurants and a downtown hotel, she said, go somewhat hand in hand.

“Not that we don’t get local support, but the reality is that a town this size can’t support restaurants without the help of visitors,” Charboneau said. “We need the Eola.”

Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Kevin Kirby said from a tourism standpoint, he would like to see the Eola remain a hotel.

“Big chains like the Holiday Inn are great, but there is a market for individuals who like to stay in historic real estate,” Kirby said. “The Eola can offer that.”

Kirby said with venues like Dunleith Historic Inn and Monmouth Historic Inn — not to mention a long list of bed and breakfasts — Natchez has no shortage of historic accommodations.

However, what Natchez is lacking, are historic accommodations located in the heart of Natchez — its downtown.

“The Peabody in Memphis and The Jefferson in Richmond — those are hotels that have become the epicenters of their downtowns,” Kirby said.

While plans for the Eola’s future remain uncertain, Kirby said he hopes its owner considers keeping the Eola true to its original purpose — a hotel.

“It’s important to the community, and it’s an important calling card to inviting people to the community,” Kirby said of the hotel.

Concerning the hotel’s current state, Lubin said he hopes to change that as soon possible.

“I care about that hotel, and I want to see it restored,” Lubin said.

With an initiative to attract tourists from around the globe, Kirby said he hopes that restoration comes soon.

“I hope we can restore it as quickly as possible,” he said. “When someone asks if you have a historic hotel, you want to be able to answer yes.”