The early day two-story frame building was home to a clothing store and drug store on the first floor with a rooming house upstairs. Walter Kehres eventually took over the building opening the Elite restaurant and rooming house. It was the last frame building on the square when Kehres replaced it with the present structure in 1936. The New Elite Hotel and Cafe with its modern art deco design was the pride of the community at the time.
The Elite (always pronounced E-LITE by Perry folks) has been a local tradition since 1915. It closed in the early 1960s. The building also housed a barber shop and auto parts store through the years.