“Just call me Ellen of no-fixed address,” she says with a laugh. Packing up and moving five hours away, might seem daunting, but Ellen is taking it in stride. “I will miss the relationships I have made over the years, but I am certain many will continue.”
Although the process of selling the inn was stressful, and she is moving away from a place she calls paradise, Ellen is excited to embark on this journey. “I have a T-shirt that says: ‘Quit your job, buy a ticket, get a tan, fall in love, never come back.’ That is my mantra.” Ellen, who is deaf with cochlear implants, and her service dog Charley, are on an adventure. Ellen says Charley misses the cookies at Birchwood, but he has been a trooper while house hunting.
Ellen will take her time to figure out what to do next. It will be a while before she shifts out of customer service mode, though. “I am still repointing toilet paper everywhere I go,” jokes Ellen.
As one of the founding members of the Association of Independent Hospitality Professionals (AIHP), Ellen will remain active in the hospitality business. She may have left innkeeping, but has not left the industry.
She is still one of the Eight Broads in the Kitchen – a sisterhood of eight innkeepers across the U.S., some active, some retired, who manage a food blog and wrote a cookbook.
She is also excited to be writing and editing with Whitestone Marketing, which will keep her connected to the industry she loves.
By Sigrid Hart
For the Love of Innkeeping
It takes a particular type of person to be an innkeeper. Most would agree it requires patience, a friendly disposition and a passion for customer service.
Ellen Chenaux is that type of person, who, after 17½ years as innkeeper/proprietor at the Birchwood Inn in Lenox, MA, sold it, left her home and took the plunge into retirement.