Vanda Smrkovski, whose Calumet Inn was featured on Hotel Hell, has been involved in quite the legal battle since the episode aired in 2014.
Rina and Vanda Smrkovski have gained a reputation among Hotel Hell fans for being some of the most ignorant and spoilt owners ever featured on the show.
But it seems like the Calumet Inn has much bigger problems than how its owners came across on this August 18, 2014, episode of Chef Gordon Ramsay’s popular show.
Vanda did not speak positively about her experience being on the show. And although Ramsay’s intervention seemingly brought in some new business, she ventured to sell their historic business in 2015; just a few years after the episode first aired.
After this first sale fell through, Tammy Grubbs, who had been working as the inn’s general manager at the time, entered into a contract for deed with Heliocentrix LLC (Vanda’s business) to take over the inn in 2018.
The condemning of Calumet Inn and the subsequent lawsuit
Unfortunately, the Smrkovski sisters were not able to put the Calumet Inn behind them as quickly as they may have anticipated. The inn was condemned by the city of Pipestone in 2020 after it had been deemed a fire hazard.
This decision proved to be highly contentious and Grubbs, as well as a few locals, quickly took to picketing as a means to get the inn reopened.
Grubbs and her company, reVamped LLC, as well as Smrkovski’s company, Heliocentrix LLC, also officially filed a complaint with the United States District Court, stating that the city of Pipestone and Building and Zoning Official, Doug Fortune, had violated their due process and other constitutional rights by condemning the building.
And although these protests worked and Calumet Inn was able to reopen briefly in 2020 (the lawsuit is still ongoing), Grubbs announced on the inn’s Facebook page on May 6, 2022 that they had been forced to close due to the “nightmarish domino effect” that this condemnation caused.
The inn has not been open for business again since.
A timeline of the Calumet Inn’s condemnation
Some of the most important developments from this lawsuit throughout the last three years (as reported by the Pipestone County Star) can be summarized as follows:
| Date | Event |
| March 10, 2020 | Calumet Inn is condemned, and notice is given to vacate the premises |
| November 13, 2019 to March 9, 2020 | Follow-up inspections |
| April 30, 2020 | Appeal filed |
| April 30, 2020 | Condemned signs are removed by the city |
| May 6, 2022 | Calumet Inn closes down |
| November 10, 2022 | Lawsuit is filed |
| December 8, 2022 | The city and Fortune file their answer |
What the Smrkovski sisters had to say about being on Hotel Hell
Although it appeared as if the Calumet Inn had been doing fairly well after Ramsay’s Hotel Hell intervention in 2013 (when the episode was filmed), Vanda revealed in a now-deleted journal post for the Pipestone County Star) that she did not enjoy filming the show, claiming that “Every 10 minutes felt like walking from one bear trap into another”.
And she later doubled-down on this sentiment by not only agreeing to feature the inn on a competing show called Resort Rescue, but also later saying that filming for this show was “nowhere near lowbrow” as Hotel Hell.
The Smrkovski sisters have also been dragged into a missing person hoax
In addition to the drama with the backlash from Hotel Hell and the ongoing lawsuit against the city, the Smrkovski sisters have also now been dragged into a missing person hoax on the internet.
A Reddit user revealed in the r/KitchenNightmares thread about a month ago that Vanda and Rina had been mentioned in a now-deleted Endate post, which made it seem like they had gone missing.
Fortunately, this entire article seems to be pure fiction, and although the Smrkovski sisters have kept their personal lives pretty private, they do still seem to be alive and safe.
The lawsuit is still ongoing
Although the lawsuit between Heliocentrix LLC, reVamped LLC, the city and Fortune has been ongoing since 2020, the Pipestone County Star has reported that the parties only recently had their pretrial conference in February 2023.
It was determined at this pretrial conference that a settlement conference will be held on December 20, 2023.
This will determine whether the Calumet Inn’s condemnation really did violate Grubbs and Smrkovski’s 14th and 5th Amendment rights and whether their monetary damages of over $75,000 (consisting of attorney’s fees, other litigation expenses and other relief costs) can be awarded.
If the matter cannot be resolved on this date, the case is expected to go to trial as early as April 2024.
