Hello from Ottawa: The Historic Auberge McGee Inn - 2 Generations Successfully Get Into The B&B Business

During my assignment here in Ottawa to cover the Tulip Festival I am staying in one of my favourite types of accommodation: a bed and breakfast. Not only will you ever see two B&B properties that are the same, the story of every bed and breakfast owner is unique as well. The historic McGee's Inn is located just steps away from the Rideau Canal, the ByWard Market, the Congress Centre, the University of Ottawa and Parliament Hill. For me it's a great location since I am able to walk to a whole range of major tourist attractions, sights and museums.

The mansion itself was built in 1886 for an Ottawa politician by the name of John McGee. His outspoken, famous brother Thomas d’Arcy McGee was actually murdered in 1868. The mansion was built in Victorian style and beautiful wood carvings adorn the fireplace mantels and artisans from as far away as Toronto contributed to the architectural detailing. After John McGee’s family left the property just before the First World War, it became a boarding house and remained run down until the early 1980s. About 25 years ago it was finally turned into a bed and breakfast.

The historic McGee's Inn

Enter the Armstrong family. Two generations of Armstrongs, Ken and Judy and their son Jason and daughter-in-law Sarah decided that they would enter the B&B business together. Ken had worked for Bell Canada for 30 years, decided to retire early and completed his real estate license, something he had always wanted to do. Judy had worked for the United Church Canada in the Conference Office, looking after accounting and continuing education for 16 years. Sarah has a graphics background and had worked for the ByTown Group as a graphic artist.

Their decision to enter into business together was ultimately motivated by Jason’s layoff from Nortel following which he wanted to spend more time with his young family. So they sat down and brainstormed about different ideas about what kind of business they could get into together. Jason had liked working at the yacht club as a teenager and Sarah was working there at the same time. They were thinking of a variety of hospitality related businesses: they considered buying a pub, even an ice cream parlour, anything that would allow the four of them to get into business together. Then the idea of owning a bed and breakfast came up. That had a good ring to it and they started looking into this option.

Jason meanwhile received job offers from as far away as Boston but he decided he did not want get into lots of traveling and wasn’t keen on continuing to work in computers. Right around that time in 2003 the McGee’s Inn came up for sale. The advantage with this property was that it was much larger than the other B&Bs that they had seen, and it looked like it might be able to provide enough revenue to sustain two couples.

By that time the bed and breakfast was somewhat run down with metal diner-style chairs adorning the dining area. The fireplace was covered up and much of the Victorian detailing had been neglected. The two Armstrong couples decided that they were going to buy the McGee’s Inn and put in an offer on the property. Financing was a major problem, however. It took them nine whole months to get the financing since all the banks were scared of touching a tourism business. All the head offices of the major banks were located in Toronto which had just been traumatized by the SARS crisis and the tourism industry had taken a major hit. As a result the banks declined many mortgage applications for tourism-related businesses.

Judy, Sarah Jason and that latest addition to the Armstrong family

Finally, the Caisse Populaire stepped up to the plate. Judy mentioned that they were wonderful to deal with and the local loans manager came out several times to visit the property and had full confidence in their planned venture. Stephane inspected the property first-hand to figure out how to sell the application to his superiors. Judy describes him as the typical old-fashioned bank manager who makes business decisions based on personal relationships. Sure enough, the deal came through with the Caisse Populaire and the two Armstrong couples were finally in the B&B business.

When the sale closed they had a total of three days to strip every single room, throw out every bed spread, every curtain. The four of them took over the property on May 25, 2004 and on May 28, 2004 they had a full house. They took possession of the property on a Wednesday, Thursday the moving company arrived with all their furniture and they worked like crazy to get rid of the old bedspreads. Judy says she went through the house like a whirling dervish, throwing existing linens, comforters and pillows out into the hallway to start their redecorating as quickly as possible. At some point she asked Sarah to go out and buy 15 new pillows so she could continue with her decorating spree.

Over the next few months they gutted the property as fast as they could and installed a proper fire detection system. The Armstrongs replaced the furnace, put in new piping and new wiring for wireless Internet access. In addition to these major structural improvements, they also repainted and redecorated each of the 14 guest rooms of the McGee's Inn.

My beautiful abode - the Egyption Room

Judy laughs when she says that the entire Sandy Hill neighbourhood, including the residences at the University of Ottawa, probably feature a lot of their 1980s furnishings and decor. When they took over the B&B, they gave away much of the old furniture to Lazarus House, a homeless shelter in Ottawa, and they put the rest by the curb. Judy said it was funny how they used to watch their discarded items walk away one by one, very quickly, most of them picked up by students from the university which is located just down the road.

At present they are still renovating the basement where Ken and Judy will be living later on. Jason and Sarah are living off premises with their small son and daughter. I asked them how things are going for two generations of Armstrongs working together seven days a week in a demanding hospitality business. Judy said that Sarah is easy to work with and admitted that every once in a while she still treats Jason like her son rather than a business partner.

But all of them say that their joint entrepreneurial adventure has been very rewarding and they really enjoy working together. Most of all they enjoy the lifestyle that it affords them, the fact that they have more time for family. People used to ask them if they were crazy, especially during the first year when they were doing all these renovations. But for the Armstrongs it’s all worth it.

I enquired about how the transition phase went and Judy and Sarah said that it was pretty easy and seemed very natural. They had all read a lot of books on how to run a bed and breakfast and their previous work experience in different fields came in handy. They also did some first hand research and went to Kingston to stay in different B&Bs. Judy said that the key deciding factor is whether you like people or you don’t. She adds that they had always been comfortable hosting guests, they often threw parties for up to 50 people and had a clear idea of what they wanted their bed and breakfast to be like.

The lounge / breakfast room at the McGee's Inn

She admits that the beginning, their first summer, was hard. At that time their laundry room was downstairs and all their linens and cloths were stored on the lower level. Even if they only needed a facecloth they had to walk up and down several floors to get it. To make things easier they even used walkie-talkies to communicate between different levels of the building. At that time they were running all over the house to get things done. Today they have a second floor storage area for linens which puts a dent in the workload. Sarah adds that their bed and breakfast is a continuous work in progress and the ladies keep redecorating the rooms on a regular basis.

I proceeded to ask them about their daily routine. Judy and Sarah both responded that they get up at about 6 am or earlier. Judy starts getting the food ready, which always includes freshly baked muffins or croissants. Sarah arrives at about 7 am and prepares the juice. They generally set the tables the night before.

Breakfast is held at 7:30 or 8 am on weekdays and a half hour later on weekends. A great addition to their business is a commercial dishwasher which finishes an entire huge load of dishes in 3 minutes. Judy says that this appliance has been one of their best investments. As a result dishes are finished by 10 am.

The team also hired a helper, Jenn, who is a student at the University of Ottawa and comes in from Monday to Friday. The Armstrongs handle all their own laundry onsite. They have two commercial dryers and one commercial and one regular washing machine. Last summer they sent a lot of laundry out to commercial laundry services, but with their new laundry equipment this task is much easier to handle.

Their bed and breakfast is generally open all year round with the exception of one week between Christmas and New Years when they take off some personal time and get the wood floors re-sanded. Earlier this year Ken and Judy went on a vacation to Portugal while Sarah and Jason ran the B&B by themselves. The beauty of having two couples involved in running a B&B is that each of them are actually able to go on vacation every once in a while and are not tied down the whole year round.

The main breakfast room at the McGee's Inn

I was also curious about their division of labour to see how they divvy up their daily responsibilities. Judy responded that she gets up early to prepare for breakfast and Sarah comes over a bit later. Sometimes it is also Sarah and Jason who prepare the breakfast. With a twinkle in her eye Judy says that Ken “gets in the way more than anything else” during breakfast preparation. He is more active in serving the breakfast and handling the coffee and tea service. Jason, Judy and Sarah do up the rooms and now they also have Jenn who helps them. Ken still spends some time working in real estate and he frequently has clients from out of town who stay at the McGee's Inn, so this turns out to be a great combination.

Judy and Sarah indicated that someone is always at the house because guests could need something at any given time. However, they take turns being there and occasionally they manage to go to the movies during the day time (Judy was planning to see the DaVinci Code later this afternoon).

When asked about their overall experience as bed and breakfast owners Judy said that they didn’t go into this business to become millionaires. She said if the basics are taken care off (housing, car, food) you are doing pretty well already and personal happiness is a question of priorities. As an example she mentioned a couple, personal acquaintances, who live in a huge house, travel all the time for business, and never have any extra money left over. In addition, this lifestyle puts a huge strain on their relationship and their children. For Judy having time for her family has always been more important.

My favourite spot: the window seat by the big bay window

Of course the Armstrongs also have some interesting guest stories to tell. Judy says that they have had wonderful guests from all over the world. The majority of them come from Quebec, Ontario, and the Eastern United States while some come from California and the West Coast. Travellers from Germany, England and Scotland like to visit particularly during the fall season. They have also had guests from more far-away locations such as Mexico, Argentina and India.

One of their guests from South Africa almost became like a family member. He would sit outside with them and just watch people walking down the street. He could not believe that people would go for a walk through the neighbourhoods because where he came from people have 8 foot fences, security systems and guard dogs, and people are generally scared to walk in public.

Other interesting guests included a couple riding a 3-wheeler motorcycle. They wanted to rent the Egyptian room, the best room at the McGee's Inn, for one night and came in wearing bandanas, leather suits and chops. In the end they stayed an entire week and were some of the most delightful guests they ever had. Apparently, the male motorcyclist owned a factory that manufactured aircraft parts, he was also a passionate cook and a hobby farmer. He was so stressed out when he arrived since he had not had a vacation in a long time. His wife said she had not seen him this relaxed in a long time. Even though they looked a little intimidating on arrival, they turned out to be some of the best guests they ever had. This experience confirms that you can never judge a book by its cover.

It was obvious that the senior and junior Armstrongs both enjoy being in the bed and breakfast business. It was refreshing to see two generations from one family come together to make a joint life decision to structure their working life around their family priorities. The Armstrongs have obviously succeeded at that.

Related Articles:
Hello from Ottawa - Overview of my first excursion to Ottawa's Tulip Festival
Hello from Ottawa - Arrival, two photo exhibitions and my own photo safari
Hello from Ottawa - Doubling up on antiquity at the Canadian Museum of Civlization
Hello from Ottawa - Sweetgrass Bistro: Aboriginal dining in the ByWard Market
Hello from Ottawa - The historic McGee's Inn: 2 couples embark on the adventure of joint B&B ownership
Hello from Ottawa - The Canadian Museum of Nature and Fatal Attraction: seduction in the animal world
Hello from Ottawa - Gatineau Park, Ottawa's nature playground
Hello from Ottawa - Major's Hill and a live TV interview
Hello from Ottawa - Bistro 115: Authentic French-Canadian cuisine in the ByWard Market
Hello from Ottawa - Historic transportation on the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Steam Train
Hello from Ottawa - The Wakefield Mill Inn & Spa: from historic gristmill to upscale lodging, dining and pampering
Hello from Ottawa - Flower and dress design at the Casino du Lac-Leamy
Hello from Ottawa - The Flotilla - a parade of decorated boats - and an interview about the background of the Tulip Festival
Hello from Ottawa - Sheep shearing at the Canadian Agriculture Museum
Hello from Ottawa - Tractors, cows and small animals at the Canadian Agriculture Museum
Hello from Ottawa - My 2-day packed itinerary for Winterlude
Hello from Ottawa - First impressions and an overview
Hello from Ottawa - The Lord Elgin Hotel: a historic landmark in the heart of Ottawa
Hello from Ottawa - Fat Tuesday's and the Mardi Gras Experience in the ByWard Market
Hello from Ottawa - An early morning walk to Parliament Hill
Hello from Ottawa - Skating on the Rideau Canal, the World's Largest Skating Rink
Hello from Ottawa - Charity and hilarity: the 26th Annual Bedzz Races on Dow's Lake
Hello from Ottawa - Confederation Park and other Winterlude locations
Hello from Ottawa - Darcy McGee's: a historic Irish pub on Sparks Street
Hello from Ottawa - The Canadian War Museum and "Weapons of Mass Dissemination - The Propaganda of War"
Hello from Ottawa - The Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography featuring Sunil Gupta and the challenges of immigration
An interview with Tourism Ottawa provides a great overview of this city
An interview about the ByWard Market, a prime entertainment and shopping area
An interview with the National Gallery of Canada
An interview with the Canadian Museum of Civilization

Helpful websites:

Ottawa Tourism: Ottawa's official tourism information
The ByWard Market Business Improvement Area
The National Capital Commission
The National Museum of Civilization
The National Gallery of Canada
The Canadian War Museum
The Canadian Museum of Nature
The Canadian Agriculture Museum

Useful books about Ottawa: