When Monica Hopton was a teenager, her father and stepmom bought a bed-and-breakfast on Nantucket. The island surroundings were lovely, and the B&B was charming, but not quite lovely enough to win over a 14-year-old.
“I said to Dad, ‘This is your thing, not mine,’ ” she said.
But life has a way of changing one’s mind. Fast forward some 30 years and Hopton owns the Christopher Dodge House bed-and-breakfast in Providence, a stately 14-room inn in the shadow of the Statehouse.
Hopton, who grew up in Exeter, finished high school and then headed to Pensacola Christian College before returning to Rhode Island two years later. She married soon after. Her husband, Frank, a Navy veteran, graduated from the University of Rhode Island but was tired of school. The young couple decided to open a business that, in retrospect, seemed almost destined to happen: the What Cheer Bed and Breakfast, which had five two-room suites on nearby Holden Street.
“We were 25 and 26 with a baby, poor as dirt,” Hopton said. “We bought the linens on our credit cards. Our first guests were a father and son checking out Brown [University]. We had $50 to buy eggs, and we learned to make omelets by watching Julia Child videos.”
Then in 2002, the couple opened the Christopher Dodge House. The 1858 red-brick Italianate mansion, once home to a dye works owner, had remained in the Dodge family until 1901, when its fortunes faded and it became a tenement. Because of its life as a rooming house, the structure was showing signs of age when the Hoptons took it over.
Many of the rooms had fireplaces, but they all needed bathrooms. Hopton’s father, an engineer, helped with the renovation, which unearthed old bottles and an electric toaster among other antique artifacts. The newly refreshed décor was understated rather than fussy.
Initially, the couple advertised to get the word out with radio spots in New York. Word of mouth and return guests helped. “One told us we were like rock stars,” Hopton said.
After a slow start, they were able to hire staff members, at one point owning four bed-and-breakfasts in the neighborhood. That was too many, Hopton acknowledges. The couple also had five children, and it added up to hard work. Eventually, they sold three of the inns, but decades later, some of the original staff members of eight are still with Hopton, taking reservations, doing laundry, making breakfast and handling maintenance. One housekeeper has worked at the inn for 25 years.
The inn’s clientele has shifted over time.
When Providence played a bigger part of the costume jewelry world, many of the guests were in the jewelry business. Now, parents touring schools with their college-bound kids are common guests.
Others are visiting from Europe. “They get a lot of vacation time,” Hopton said.
Among the brushes with celebrity, singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb stayed at the Dodge House, and the funk and soul group The Commodores once booked a block of rooms, inviting the staff to the concert. The group ended up taking a limo back to New York after the show. “They did pay for the rooms,” Hopton said.
Like many in the hospitality business, the Hoptons took a financial hit when COVID-19 led to a nearly complete shutdown and social distancing in early 2020.
“March is normally the start of the busy season for Providence lodgings, and it lasts into November,” Hopton said. Instead of being booked, the Christopher Dodge House had to close. “We had no guests. We had to put our own money, around $50,000, into it to make guest refunds,” she said.
Hopton and her daughter, Karina, who was being homeschooled, commuted from their Little Compton home to work at the inn. “We had a coffee maker to allow any guests we did have to keep their distance,” she recalled. “We brought breakfast to a guest’s door. We made it work and slowly opened back up. We started seeing large groups. It was almost like families were being let out of their cage.”
Hopton is quick to praise her staff for the inn’s success. “They’re great. When Frank died suddenly of a heart attack three years ago, they picked up the ball,” she said.
Since then, she’s had time to publish a children’s book, “Tucker at the Inn,” based on the family’s goofy golden doodle. “I read it to my grandkids and told myself if they laugh, I’ll keep going. If not, I’ll rip it up.” They laughed.
But it’s still challenging to get people to notice there’s a B&B in an urban setting within walking distance to Waterplace Park and Providence Place mall. In June, room rates ranged from $119 to $359 a night, according to the website.
“Weekdays are slow, but we’re always booked on weekends,” Hopton said. “Once guests walk in the door, we’ve got them. They realize we’re not a Marriott.”
