Rae Mason fosters friendly, at-home feeling at hotel in Upper Burrell

When she was 18, Rae Mason would greet guests at her family’s hotel, take their coats and hang them in the coat room, exchanging the jackets for tiny tickets. Then she would people-watch as they headed to the bar area for the night’s entertainment.

When her father, John E. Mason, took over the hotel, he was beloved, and his legacy of goodwill extended to Mason.

Now 53, she is the owner of Mason’s Hotel on Washington Boulevard, off Greensburg Road (Route 366) in the Lincoln Beach section of Upper Burrell. It’s a place that, if you’re not looking for it, you might pass — but regulars say it’s unforgettable.

“The people that come in here are either brought by others or stumble upon it,” Mason said. “If they were brought here, it’s by people that respect us, and everyone loved my father … he was one of a kind.”

The hotel has been around since the early 1940s. It was originally Mason’s uncle Peyton’s home that he converted into a hotel — one of the few Black-owned hotels in the area today.

Mason’s father bought the hotel about 50 years ago. He died in 2015, and after that, it was just her and her mother running the hotel. Since her mother’s recent passing, Mason has been running the business with the help of eight employees.

Growing up, the atmosphere was a mixture of people around.

“It always felt very loving, welcoming and comforting,” Mason said.

The hotel always had an entertainment aspect, with different bands like the Ohio Players, George Benson and Grover Washington Jr.

Mason is usually at the hotel throughout the day, greeting and chatting with those who stop in.

While the hotel has evolved, its core ethos remains the same.

“It still has the same atmosphere, the same spirit, the same feel,” she said. “I always give away free food for the holidays, and everyone is welcome.”

“It’s a great atmosphere,” frequent customer Jamal Jones said. “I’ve never been anywhere that feels so harmonious. It’s like one big family when you come in the door. … It is a great feeling, even from people that you don’t know. Everyone is just trying to enjoy the moment.”

“When you lay your head down at night here, you are safe,” Mason said.

The hotel has 12 rooms, with a restaurant through the hotel bar, which Mason runs.

“My chicken wings are delicious, some of the best you’ll have,” Mason said.

What makes Mason’s chicken wings unique is her seasoning, which creates an enviable crispiness that some say is fried to perfection.

“I don’t have a recipe. I kind of go by taste,” she said. “It’s our little secret, but they come out as a nice, beautiful piece of fried chicken with a beautiful seasoning.”

Every half-dozen gets a clove of garlic, which brings out the oils and gives the flavor a deeper dimension.

“Marvelous. It’s a great seasoning, unlike any other chicken wing I’ve had. It’s own blend, like a secret I want to know but I don’t,” Jones said.

The restaurant offers a limited menu, with features like chicken wings, cheesesteak on Texas toast, pizza, fresh-cut fries and sometimes hot dogs — “Something to get you in and get you going,” Mason said.

For holidays, the menu is more elaborate with Mason preparing full-course meals. During the summer, she fires up the grill. They have fried fish on Fridays during Lent. When Mason does fish, it’s black bass.

“Miss Rae she is wonderful,” customer Chris McKallip said. “She has a lot of on her plate taking care of everyone, so we all try to give her a hand, unloading the groceries. But she is a great person.”

“Fair, firm and consistent,” Jones said.

Mason was born and raised in New Kensington. In the 1970s, Mason said that your aunt was around the corner or down the street.

“The community was the village, and everyone would help raise you. Everyone would look out for you. I was somebody’s child that was someone else’s friend,” she said. “I think it was better then than it is now. People are scattered, and you don’t know who anyone is anymore.”

But inside the hotel, that’s not the case. Mason has somehow encapsulated that community feel, keeping it tight, and that feeling resonates with others, too.

Drawn to cooking

Mason didn’t initially plan on cooking or running a business. She thought she might have some involvement in the hotel but not to this magnitude.

“I’m a foodie and I like to eat. Whatever my mom cooked was always good, from a pie to Thanksgiving dinner, and that had some influence on me,” she said. Many of her recipes come from trying to replicate her mother’s cooking by remembering the taste.

This will be her third Thanksgiving at the hotel, where she cooks dinner for anyone who needs a place to go for the holiday.

“Anybody is welcome, it’s always free — any holiday is free,” she said.

“It’s something my father always did. Food builds community building and health,” she said. “Not everyone has a family, but we’re here and it is like family, it is all love.”

The Thanksgiving menu includes turkey, stuffing, macaroni and cheese, greens, sweet potatoes, rolls, gravy, cranberry sauce, potato salad and a dessert that might be from a family friend “who makes the best sweet potato pies and the best applesauce you can eat,” Mason said.

Mason is hopeful that the New Kensington area can thrive again, she’s not sure it can have the same spirit.

“People wouldn’t settle for anything less than family and respect,” Mason said. “Nowadays, it is not like that. New Ken is trying to get back, but you need support from your community.”

As for the future of the hotel and restaurant, she hopes for it to continue to stay busy and expand, possibly adding more rooms and amenities. Currently, they have a pool and horseshoe games.

Mason is the last of her immediate family. Her younger brother was killed in the 2000s.

In tough moments, Mason said she takes a deep breath, stays in the moment and keep things in perspective.

“I have good friends around me and family” said Mason, and also customers who feel like family.

She pauses to joke with Jones, her laugh contagious.