Hello from Nova Scotia – The Lunenburg Inn – A couple’s unique (before) retirement story

The day had started very well: a hearty and healthy breakfast at the Lunenburg Inn was excellent preparation for a full day of discovery. During the bright and sunny morning I went out and took a walking tour of Lunenburg, a quaint and scenic town on the south coast of Nova Scotia whose unique architectural heritage has earned it a coveted UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. I capped off my local explorations with a visit to the famous Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, a renowned museum that celebrates Nova Scotia’s maritime heritage.

I had big plans for today: a scenic drive along the Lighthouse Trail through picturesque communities like Mahone Bay and Peggy’s Cove to my final destination for today: Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia. But before saying goodbye to this charming town, I wanted to know a little more about the hospitality entrepreneurs who run the Lunenburg Inn. I am always interested in the people behind the destinations, because people are really the key factor in any hospitality experience.

So, with my suitcase packed and safely stored in the car, I sat down with Don and Gail Wallace, owners of the Lunenburg Inn, to learn more about their personal story. Don began by telling me that he had spent 33 years at a Toronto-based company in the warehousing and transportation business, and that he held the title of Vice President towards the end of his term. He felt it was time to make a significant change in his life, so he and Gail sat down to discuss what options they might have. They talked about downsizing their house and looking for a second career that they could start together. They also wanted to move away from the Toronto area and find a place where they could retire. So they started looking further afield.

One day in February 1995 they noticed an advertisement in the Financial Post for a place called “Lunenburg Inn”. This struck a chord because they had both been dreaming of retiring near the ocean. So Don picked up the phone and contacted the real estate broker. One Sunday morning in February he flew to Halifax and fell in love with the south shore of Nova Scotia. Don adds that Lunenburg was not as pretty as it is today, but even then he recognized the potential of this city. He really liked the property very much, although he would need a lot of work. He then called Gail to share positive impressions of him and suggested that they both travel to Lunenburg the following weekend to see the inn. All the necessary professional contacts were initiated: the bank’s mortgage broker, the building inspector, the real estate agent and the lawyer who would handle the transaction. Don and his wife discussed the idea with their older children. The following Sunday afternoon there was a meeting with the building inspector, after which Don prepared the offer. On Monday morning the mortgage was approved, and shortly after lunch, Don handed the realtor a check as a down payment on his retirement plan, the Lunenburg Inn. Shortly after his return to Toronto, he received a call from his real estate agent who would now be the proud owners of an inn as of May 1, 1995.

Ironically, on the day this real estate transaction was completed, Don had to go on a business trip to Vancouver, and he and his colleague went out after work and celebrated with a bottle of wine. It wasn’t until months later that his co-worker discovered that Don had a real reason to celebrate that very day: the start of his second career.

Back in Toronto, Don wrote a letter of resignation to the president of his company, who was very surprised since he and most of the people in the company had assumed that Don was a “perpetual”, meaning that he would spend the rest of his working life in this company. Don gave 6 months notice and would be leaving his position as Vice President at the end of August. This gave the couple enough time to organize garage sales to get rid of unwanted furniture in Toronto. On April 28, his truck left at 5 am, packed his products, and arrived in Lunenburg on April 30. Don had booked a two-week vacation, and his son had joined him for the summer in Lunenburg, a perfect arrangement since Don had yet to wrap up his final months with his company in Toronto.

So starting in May, Gail and her son Drew began operating the bed and breakfast. Her daughter came to join them in July, she had just finished her senior year of high school and was starting a degree at Wilfred Laurier University in September. Don was able to leave his position early as he had hired a replacement at the end of July. So on August 1 the whole family gathered in Lunenburg.

The Lunenburg inn had been furnished when Don and Gail bought it, but the owners had taken personal items that had been used in the inn. Living room was very sparse with some rooms missing chairs and tables. So, for the first few weeks, Gail and her son Drew embarked on a nightly furniture-moving routine: They needed to complete the rooms rented for the night with the rest of the furniture decorating the living room that night. That meant furniture had to be continually moved from room to room. They had decided to leave their Toronto-area home furnished while Don was still living there and increase the chances of selling it. It just sold at the end of July (closing in mid-August) and Don had the mover pack everything up in the last week of July. The furniture arrived in Lunenburg in mid-August and after its arrival they finally had a fully furnished living room without the overnight furniture move.

The Lunenburg Inn had been an abandoned building, so it needed a lot of work. From 1924 to 1979 it had been the “Hillside Hotel”, a 13-room hotel (with a bathroom!) next to the city’s train station. Meanwhile, train service to Lunenburg has been discontinued for many years. The property sat abandoned for several weeks just before the previous owners purchased it in 1988. When Don and Gail purchased the property in 1995, the building was very old and in need of a complete redecoration and upgrade, including furnishings, to bring up to a 4 1/2 star property.

During her first winter of 1995, Gail removed all the furniture and diligently restored it. All sofas and armchairs were reupholstered. Don himself learned to repair the plaster in this historic building, and in the dining room the couple removed nine layers of wallpaper and four layers of paint, all accumulated over the years since the building’s construction in 1893. The rugs were ripped out and replaced, the floors were renovated. So far in the last 11 years, every room has been redecorated at least three times. Don firmly believes that a bed and breakfast should never look tired. His goal was to make the Lunenburg Inn a warm and comfortable place with unique features.

The Lunenburg Inn is now in its 12th season and is still holding up well. Meanwhile, Don and Gail are ready to begin their true retirement. Don informed me that around 40% of bed and breakfast owners do not reopen after the third season, another 40% of B&B owners discontinue their business after 6 years. Only 5% of B&B owners make it to the 10 year mark. Don adds that running the Lunenburg Inn was “his second and last career of his,” and he and Gail had been engaged for 10 years. Now, 11 years later, they are ready to move on to a well-earned retirement.

But this industrious couple didn’t just own B&Bs: From 1997 to the end of 2002, they also owned an M&M Meat Shop franchise, which meant that Gail managed the retail operation while Don, along with some contract employees, managed the retail operation. managed the bed and breakfast. Gail would be at the store every day from 9 am to 6 pm and Don would handle the ordering and accounting for the butcher shop in addition to his duties at the inn.

Today, the couple is focusing only on the Lunenburg Inn. Your day begins at 6 am when freshly baked muffins are baked for up to 19 breakfast diners. Guests can come for breakfast whenever it suits them. Don and Gail went to great lengths to prepare a healthy, hearty and attractive breakfast that always includes plenty of fresh fruit. They work with a 7-day rotation for breakfast so that none of the diners get bored of being served the same dishes twice in a row.

Breakfast is held from 8 to 9:30 am and a helper in the kitchen is in charge of arranging the dishes, coffee and toast. Two housekeepers help with housekeeping and housekeeping, and all of the inn’s laundry is handled in-house. The Lunenburg Inn is open from the beginning of May until the end of October. Don and Gail have made a commitment that one of them will always sleep in the house when the B&B is open. Guests can always have potential needs, and it is important to have a competent contact person on site.

Don and Gail are proud of the fact that the Lunenburg Inn was the first 4.5 star property in Lunenburg, a property that combines “warmth of home” with Victorian charm. 75% of your business comes from repeat customers and referrals, evidence of your commitment to an exceptional hospitality experience.

Personally, they live in a separate private apartment on the lower level of the inn, and during the winter season they like to spend time with their children and go to South Carolina for a couple of weeks. There are always things to do at the inn, and winter is the perfect time to redecorate or upgrade. Don also likes to curl about four or five mornings a week during the winter.

The Lunenburg Inn is currently for sale. Neither Don nor Gail are in a hurry to sell the property, realizing that it will take a special buyer who is interested in running this inn. Sometimes it can take three to five years to sell a property like this. Don and Gail indicated that once the inn is sold, they will stay in Lunenburg and purchase a simple family home. They enjoy the weather here: summers are less hot and humid than in Ontario, and there is less snow and rain. Gail adds that for the first four years at Lunenburg she didn’t even need winter boots. And the falls are just beautiful in this fifth community.

I realized that here was a couple who had made some very strategic and well thought out decisions about their retirement. They knew exactly where they were going and what their next step was going to be. Few of us are lucky enough to have such a clear idea of ​​where life is going to take us. With these thoughts in mind, I thanked Don and Gail for their warm hospitality and set off to continue my journey along the Lighthouse Trail to Halifax.