Not many couples can live where they work, as do Roger and Corinne Bouchard, co-owners of Pillsbury House Bed & Breakfast in Woonsocket.
In 1993, the pair purchased and moved into the 1875 property at 341 Prospect St. with the aim of transitioning the one-time home to a functioning inn.
Over the next two years, said Roger, the couple embarked on a $40,000 renovation. He characterized the transition as a “big challenge” because when they bought the property the structure only had one bathroom. Now it features six full bathrooms and one half-bathroom throughout its three floors and the lower level, where the Bouchards live.
The biggest obstacle, he explained, was bringing the property up to code in terms of electrical wiring, plumbing capacity and installation of safety features.
There are four rooms at the Pillsbury House Bed & Breakfast, which can accommodate eight total guests. The White Room is furnished and decorated in an all-white motif, whereas the Victorian Room has darker furniture and “reflects” the history of the house, he said.
“The wallpaper of the Garden Room is suggestive of a garden with vegetables,” he said, and overlooks the property’s garden.
Finally, he added, the Country Suite has a “rustic, country” motif with farmhouse furniture.
As to which is most popular, he said, “They’re all pretty evenly booked.” Which room is chosen “has a lot to do with the taste of the person,” he added.
While Corinne manages the day-to-day upkeep of the property, Roger books reservations and owns WNRI, the local radio station.
The idea for a bed-and-breakfast, he added, “was more her than me.”
And the investment has paid off.
“Every year when I go do my taxes it’s always a little bit better than the year before,” he said.
He credits much of the inn’s success to repeat customers but said “the bed-and-breakfast is busy year-round” for a couple reasons: guests visiting local attractions, colleges and universities, and family, and area industry, including CVS Health Corp.
“Because CVS is so busy, a lot of vendors who call on them have limited options. They can take a room at the Holiday Inn Express right across the street from the headquarters or … they can book a room here,” he said.
Another reason business has remained steady, he believes, is the $99-per-night rate, which, with Rhode Island taxes, totals $111.87. When the inn first opened in 1995 there were four separate rates, one for each room, he said – now “it’s my marketing strategy” to price them all the same.
Yes, business has slowly grown over 23 years, but he said the company’s biggest success is the “satisfaction” of attracting a “very conservative, quiet clientele.”
In the inn’s history, “There has never been one incident – nothing has ever been stolen,” he said.
While he doesn’t know when it will happen, Roger and his wife will eventually retire from the bed-and-breakfast business.
“We’re not sick of it yet,” he joked.
Until then, his goal is “maintaining the integrity of the property, so that when Corinne and I decide to retire … we get the maximum value for our property.”
CO-OWNERS: Roger and Corinne Bouchard
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Bed-and-breakfast
LOCATION: 341 Prospect St., Woonsocket
EMPLOYEES: Three
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 1995
ANNUAL SALES: Approximately $100,000
