Home Subscriber Only Business Women Admiral Fitzroy Inn’s Craig became part of Newport historic inn’s fabric

Admiral Fitzroy Inn’s Craig became part of Newport historic inn’s fabric

By

Susan Shalhoub

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05/27/2022

PLACESETTER: Angela Craig prepares the dining room at Newport’s historic Admiral Fitzroy Inn, where she started as the innkeeper in 2004. / PBN FILE PHOTO/KATE WHITNEY LUCEY

Business Women Awards 2022 Achievement Honoree Angela Craig, Admiral Fitzroy Inn BEFORE BECOMING INKEEPER at Newport’s historic Admiral Fitzroy Inn in 2004, Angela Craig and her husband, Peter Gagnon, had what Craig calls a “learning experience,” a cautionary tale for other small-business owners. They bought The Villa Bed & Breakfast in Westerly, a transaction she

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Business Women Awards 2022 Achievement Honoree Angela Craig, Admiral Fitzroy Inn

BEFORE BECOMING INKEEPER at Newport’s historic Admiral Fitzroy Inn in 2004, Angela Craig and her husband, Peter Gagnon, had what Craig calls a “learning experience,” a cautionary tale for other small-business owners. They bought The Villa Bed & Breakfast in Westerly, a transaction she made happen in part by selling her mother’s wedding ring, she says. There were factors working against them, Craig said. One of those factors: the property only had seven rooms to rent at that time, not enough to generate sufficient revenue. Also, the couple didn’t have much to invest back into the property. Craig found that maintenance was one of the most challenging parts of innkeeping: a combination of ongoing tasks, repairs, upgrades and the downtime needed to get all the work accomplished. The couple owned the property for four years, ultimately realizing that they would have needed more money upfront to have made the business a success, and eventually sold it. However, the experience at the Villa became a crucial element of the overall value of Craig, who dove in headfirst, only to realize she preferred being an operator more than an owner. She moved on to work as a front desk associate at Castle Hill Inn, the sister property of the Admiral Fitzroy Inn. Nine months later, the hospitality talents she then brought as innkeeper of the Admiral Fitzroy – the 18-room, Thames Street inn on the National Register of Historic Places – included resourcefulness, patience and knowledge honed over years in the business. Gagnon was part of the package. By this time, the two were a well-oiled machine. “We cooked; we handled housekeeping, front desk, breakfast, bookkeeping – we did everything we were doing when we owned an inn ourselves except pay the mortgage,” she said. “We took on the Admiral Fitzroy like it was our own, as we came in knowing more than the owners.” Craig said that there was no rulebook for handling COVID-19. The team had to do its best. “We knew all our calls were going to be cancelations. We didn’t have money to refund, so we were putting people on a waitlist and seeing if they would take vouchers for future stays to help us out after COVID-19 passed,” Craig said.