When Bradford Travel opened its doors for the first time 39 years ago, it had a view of Main and Davis streets in a side office in the Holley Hotel.
The travel agency recently moved back to Main Street by setting up a new office at 89 Main St. where it hosted the Business After Hours event in partnership with the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce.
Longtime travel agent Susan Holsinger said the business was originally owned and operated by Judy Williams at its first office on Main Street.
“We were (located) over in the corner of the (Holley Hotel) … that was way back when and they put in a bathroom for us and everything,” Holsinger said of agency’s first office. “It was all brand new and everything. We were a branch of Olean Travel at the time.”
She said later on, the Huber family purchased the business from Williams and moved the business to an office near the current U.S. Post Office. Later, she said the Huber family built Union Square and moved Bradford Travel to that plaza.
“The Hubers sold (the business) to Covered Wagon and then Niagara Scenic Tours bought Covered Wagon and we are a division of Niagara Scenic,” Holsinger explained, noting the travel agency is also owned by Keith Fisher.
She said that as Niagara Scenic is a bus company, Bradford Travel conducts a number of bus tours to areas such as Washington, D.C., and New York City.
“We get a lot of one-day bus tours, (such as) to New York, and we always send a tour director, which is somebody employed by us,” she continued. “(The bus tours) always have a tour guide with them.”
Holsinger said the travel agency also provides corporate and leisure travel packages, with trips arranged for Europe or the Caribbean.
“We have business people who go to China, Australia or Europe,” she added. “And every once in a while if we have an international trip for a group, we send a tour director, too.”
She noted that office manager Angela Shipman recently took a group to Austria, while another tour guide took a group to Ireland.
“We’re trying to do at least one international trip (with a group) a year,” she added.
On a final note, Holsinger said the staff likes the new office on Main Street.
“We like our office very, very much and now that (the city) is doing the sidewalks and everything, it’s making it even better,” she said in referring to the ongoing Streetscape project.
The business is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call Bradford Travel at 362-6884.
