Purcellville's White Palace building has new owners, plans for major renovation

They are planning a “major renovation” to the building, which they expect will take at least one year.

The Zurschmeides are co-owners of Dirt Farm, a farm brewery in Bluemont, and are longtime residents in Loudoun County.

“We are taking our farming, fermentation and hospitality experience and bringing it to the town of Purcellville,” Janell Zurschmeide said.

She remembers the White Palace as a fun hangout and restaurant where Bruce worked in the 1990s. It was also the place where she had her first drink and she and Bruce “fell in love.”

“We are thankful the Kakouras family has decided to pass the torch to us,” she said. “It needs a lot of love and we want to bring it back to life. We’ve been eyeballing this property for a long time,” Janell Zurschmeide said.

“It was a special place. We hated seeing it empty,” Bruce Zurschmeide said.

Wes Schoeb, who is the head brewer at Dirt Farm, said he grew up in Round Hill and he wanted to find a project to work on with his uncle, Bruce. His wife Lauren works in marketing at Salamander Resort and Spa in Middleburg and is also excited for the hospitality side of the project and creating a special gathering spot in town.

The exact plans for the concept have not been finalized, but the downstairs space will remain “some type of restaurant” and the upstairs apartments will be renovated for rental.

“We want to bring some life to the downtown area – that is our main plan,” Wes Schoeb said.

Janell Zurschmeide emphasized that they are grateful that the Kakouras family entrusted them with the building.

“We are humbled to take the Kakouras legacy and move it forward,” Janell Zurschmeide said. “They are wonderful, good people.”