A view of a suite in The Thomas Hotel. The Thomas is a new boutique hotel in downtown Tyler that is set to open Aug. 1.

A new boutique hotel has opened in the heart of Tyler with a goal of providing visitors with hospitality and comfort unique to the South.

Owners Andrew and Grace Cryer bought the old HG2 building at 109 E. Erwin St. in 2020 with the intent of creating a hotel that visitors and lifelong Tylerites can enjoy.

The couple named the hotel The Thomas, which “kind of came from the love of our family and of the name Thomas,” Grace Cryer said. Andrew and Grace said they have family members with the name they wanted to pay tribute to, she added.

While she and her husband live in Colorado, Grace Cryer is from the area and has had multiple generations of family live in Tyler. She said her great grandfather, Thomas Boyd Ramey Sr., was a founder of the Texas Rose Festival.

Grace Cryer said she believes the addition of The Thomas “definitely brings a lodging aspect that was missing from the downtown area.”

She and her husband have owned a couple of Airbnb’s for two years in Tyler and have had success with them, she said. If they are booked, people often call and ask if the couple has other spaces to rent, which led them to realize they could meet a need with the addition of a hotel.

“That’s kind of where the dream began for my husband and I — that we need to do a much larger scale project. That was the hotel,” she said. “We just feel like Tyler needs something like this.

“We hope it’s reciprocated and people enjoy it, and we hope it’s not just out-of-towners coming to stay but locals that are wanting to experience the downtown Tyler life because it is thriving, and it’s just getting started.”

The Thomas has eight suites that are “generously spaced,” with a king size bed, sleeper sofa, kitchenette and bathroom, Grace Cryer said.

Hotel guests also can visit the bar, called The Judge, in the lobby. The bar is open to the public 3 to 8 p.m. daily. It is reserved for hotel guests at other times.

“Our goal is to really create a space and an environment for people to come and have a drink if you’re a local, or you know, come and stay,” Grace Cryer said. “We really want to show people what Tyler is all about, and that is Southern comfort and Southern hospitality, and we hope we can cater to that.”

The Thomas also is aimed at drawing people who may be working in downtown Tyler temporarily as well as a younger crowd, she said.

“We hope people come check it out,” Grace Cryer said. “We’re very excited to offer this to Tyler.”

The Thomas Hotel and The Judge bar are expected to open Aug. 1.