College dining services provider Gourment Services, Inc., is finalizing a deal to take on the lease of the St. James Hotel in downtown Selma, AL

College dining services provider Gourment Services, Inc., is finalizing a deal to take on the lease of the St. James Hotel in downtown Selma, AL, reports the Selma Times-Journal. The facility would be Gourmet Services’ first hotel operation. The St. James is located at the beginning of the National Historic Trail linking Selma to Montgomery, the route marchers took during the 1965 voting rights movement. It is currently being managed by the city. With only 42 rooms, the St. James is not financially viable as a lodging property but Gourmet Services hopes to turn it into a destination restaurant. Its bar and restaurant had been shuttered since early this year.