My Biz: Bed, breakfast and open for business

Shelley Sullens's day-to-day work has a rhythm. She's up at 6 a.m. to prepare a full breakfast in the Belmont Hill Victorian Bed and Breakfast's formal dining room, complete with linens, crystal and china.

“We just serve breakfast,” she said. “I tell people it's not a ‘bed, breakfast, lunch and dinner.'”

The rest of Sullens's day includes cleaning, laundry, checking for reservations, meal planning, shopping and taking care of the grounds.

“This summer it's taking me three hours to water the gardens,” she said. “But I love the work. It's very satisfying.”

Sullens and with her husband, Ken, bought the property in June 1996 and opened it as a B&B in September 1997.

The home - what Sullens calls a time capsule in the middle of a neighborhood on Cedar Rapids's northwest side that's filled with ranch houses - was built in 1880 on a 45-acre parcel. Two families owned the home through 1969, then it sat vacant for six years before the third owners purchased it in 1975, running in heat, water and electricity for the first time.

“It's a wonderful piece of property and really perfect for what we are doing,” Sullens said.

The couple relocated from the Chicago area, where they had owned a furniture stripping business, to open the B&B. The home, now on the National Historic Register, needed a lot of work before they could officially open for business.

But Sullens pointed out that they had the experience.

“This is our third rehab and second historical home,” she said.

The carriage house, for example, was an empty shell, with a dirt floor, before Ken used reclaimed wood to turn it into the guest quarters that now sleeps eight.

“And what we have here is quiet,” Sullens said, noting the 14-inch solid brick walls. “It's the Third Little Pig's house.”

The guesthouse not only focuses on its historical aspects but also has upgraded amenities, such as Wi-Fi and satellite TV, that guests require. People also appreciate the privacy, she added.

“A lot of people come to us for the first time and say they love the privacy of the separate building. Our motto is, ‘Always available but never intrusive,'” she said.

Name: Shelley Sullens

Title: Co-owner

Company: Belmont Hill Victorian Bed and Breakfast

Address: 1525 Cherokee Dr. NW, Cedar Rapids

Phone: (319) 366-1343

Website: www.belmonthill.com

Elevator pitch: “Always available but never intrusive.”

Know a manager or company that's been in business for at least a year that should be considered for “My Biz”? Contact business editor Michael Chevy Castranova at michael.castranova@sourcemedia.net.