“Sam!” Brittany interrupted. “You don’t have to make it sound so dreadful.”
“It’s true though.” He shrugged. “Starting a business isn’t easy. But if you can make it past those first few years, it does get easier. Once you’re established, the real fun begins. That’s when you’ll find the most fulfillment.
“Sure, it’s not the shiny new feeling of redecorating everything. But don’t listen to Brittany.” He laughed. “Long-term success truly is the best part. I’m Sam by the way.” He held out his hand to Clara first, who shook it.
“Clara,” she said. “And this is my husband, Ezra. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” he said as he shook Ezra’s hand.
“Ezra and Clara bought Lyla and Richard’s old place,” Brittany explained. “They’re going to be revamping the bed and breakfast and opening it up themselves.”
“That’s awesome!” Sam said. “Welcome to town and to the hospitality business. It’s a great property with a lot of potential. You must’ve had an amazing realtor. A lot of people were eyeing it. We weren’t expecting an outsider to even know of its availability.”
“She’s one of the best,” Ezra said. Though of course, the windfall they had stumbled upon was the true reason behind their ability to purchase the property. There had been a lot of negotiations and mounting offers to attain it, but it was worth the fuss.
“Lucky you happened upon her. Congratulations on the purchase. Are you planning on fixing the place up? I assume that’s why you’re here.”
“We are,” Clara said. “It’s such a beautiful Victorian house that we want to lean into that as we grow our business. I have this vision of an old-fashioned, Victorian-era bed and breakfast. I’d like it give it that classy, upper-class look alongside something literary. I want it to feel like you’re stepping into a scene from one of the classics right when you walk through that door.
“It’s a bit of a risk, I suppose. It’s not going to appeal to everyone. But at least there are other businesses in the area people can visit if they don’t like our style. It’ll make us stand out though, I hope. It’ll offer an experience that can’t be found everywhere. So, I think once we start getting guests that’ll spread the word to other likeminded people, it’ll become a sustainable business.”
“I love that,” Brittany said. “It certainly sounds unique and is quite different from our current properties. It’ll draw in a more diverse crowd which will be nice, and it’s always good to have multiple options.”
“Definitely.” Sam agreed. “Are you planning on doing anything with that huge kitchen and dining area?”
“That’s my domain,” Ezra replied with a surge of new excitement. Given the opportunity to talk about his passion with someone new reawakened those dreams. They had become too intertwined with negativity lately that he almost forgot why he was so happy to be there in the first place.
“We’re going to do some renovations on it,” Ezra continued. “Though the space is already great, I’m thinking of switching up the color scheme a bit. I’d like it to tie in with the Victoria theme while still being capable of standing on its own. We certainly need to get new furnishings for it.
“I hired the groundskeeper’s son, Nathaniel, to help me out. We’re working on a menu currently. We’re going to start by serving typical breakfast foods and pastries, while working towards lunch and dinner service as well. I’d love to see it branch out from just serving our guests to being able to bring more people in. For now, we’re keeping the operation pretty small though.
“Cooking’s my passion and I want to enjoy it again. It brings that extra touch of warmth and love, you know? So, I think it’ll offer our guests something a little different than our competition does. Not only will they get the Victorian-era experience, but they’ll also be provided with homecooked meals by someone who was a head chef in Chicago.”
“Impressive,” Sam said, though Brittany shifted uncomfortably. “It sounds like you two have a really solid business plan. I’m kind of jealous.” He laughed.
“Me too,” Brittany agreed. “You’re certainly bringing something new to the table. Though I think it could be beneficial for us to work together. I talked about this a little with Clara at the book club meeting, but it’s so important for the businesses around here to work together and bring new visitors into town. Helping our community grow will help all of us thrive.
“Since we both own bed and breakfasts, yet are different enough not to be direct competitors, I think it could help drum up business and interest in the town if we worked together on a few projects. We’ve already collaborated with many of the other local businesses, and each time it’s been a massive success.”
“For sure,” Sam agreed. His eyes lit up with enthusiasm. Clara absent-mindedly reached for Ezra’s hand, caught up in their excitement. “We used to work with Lyla and Richard all the time on projects that helped each of our businesses succeed. The four of us made huge impacts in paving the way for the draw this town has to tourists now. When we first started out, almost no one who didn’t live here knew about the town. It was just one of those small, sleepy places in the mountains.
“Now…” he shrugged. “We still have some work to do, but it stands as proof of what we can do together.”
Clara and Ezra’s enthusiasm grew. This was more than they could’ve asked for. Allies who were in the same business and had been
