Lingrow Farm, a wedding venue in Gilpin, is under new ownership following a deal closed in late January.
Tyler and Leah Frey, a married couple from Imperial, will now be overseeing weddings at the 50-acre site on Forks Church Road. They purchased the business and property from Linda Alworth, the founder and longtime owner of Lingrow.
All weddings already booked at Lingrow will be handled by the Freys.
Leah Frey, a marketing and events coordinator, said running their own wedding venue business was two years in the making. She previously worked as a receptionist for various wedding businesses.
“This is a dream,” she said. “I couldn’t wait to get away from a desk and help brides every day.”
The couple looked at the property last March before striking a deal in August. The sale price was about $1.9 million.
Tyler Frey said the couple looked at building their own wedding venue site on their property in Imperial, near the Pittsburgh airport, but local regulations would not allow it.
“We fell in love with Lingrow. We love the look and property,” Tyler Frey said. “We knew Lingrow needed new ownership and some young blood.”
Joyce Hanz | Tribune-Review
Lingrow Farm, shown in late summer of 2020.
Alworth decided last spring it was time to put the property up for sale. She said maintenance of the converted barn that serves as the venue was becoming too much to handle.
“I can’t do it. I don’t have it in me anymore,” she said.
Alworth, a Washington Township native, bought the property in 2005 for $395,000 and coordinated her first wedding in 2006. The venue can hold up to 240 people.
She said the venue saw about 70 weddings every summer. As time went on, Alworth continued to remodel and upgrade the barn.
She said she invested almost $3 million into the property.
Alworth employed 25 people at Lingrow. Sh’ll miss those she worked with the most, but she thinks the property is in good hands with the Freys.
“I think they will do well,” she said. “They’re a nice couple.”
Alworth will focus her attention on her Leechburg restaurant, the Twisted Thistle. The restaurant also served as the primary caterer for events at Lingrow.
The Freys plan to keep the name Lingrow Farm, at least for now. They have plans to give the barn a modernized look. The changes would be made as early as fall, Leah Frey said.
She hopes to improve the heating system in the barn to allow for weddings to be held year-round.
The couple plans a grand reopening event of the barn, with an open house on March 26 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Tanisha Thomas is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tanisha at 412-480-7306, [email protected] or via Twitter .