Meet Your Breakfast Matchmaker
During my first week as an innkeeper, I was putting the plates on the table for our very first breakfast at the Bay Haven Inn of Cape Charles. As I set the last plate down at the ten-seat table, I began to wonder how to introduce guests to one another, in a way that would “break the ice” at the breakfast table.
Being a “Breakfast Matchmaker” was not a role I had ever expected to find myself playing. I knew I would be a chef, a hostess, a gardner, a travel guide, and a laundress…but a breakfast matchmaker? Never!
As the guests took their seats, my main goals for the morning were to make sure they were happy with their meal, as well as with the company of each other. One couple–an introverted, pair from Holland–was involved in the international space program. The other guest–a local woman in her mid-sixties, enjoying the inn with her sister–had made all the window treatments for the inn. I remember my thought in that moment, as if it was yesterday: How in the world am I going to introduce these guests to one another and foster a warm and inviting environment?
It was then that I recalled that the seamstress’s husband used to work for NASA! I casually leaned over, while serving some ham and biscuits, and said, “Did you know that you all have something in common?” I then made the introduction and headed back to the kitchen.
Since this pivotal moment at my inn’s breakfast table, I have realized that I want an inn that is known for people coming together to relax, converse, and forget about their worries. I take specialcare when guests check in to get to know them, learn what they like, ask where they are from, and find out what brought them to Cape Charles. This brief, intentional conversation provides me with enough information to make introductions and help people build connections.
One of the greatest rewards of being The Breakfast Matchmaker is watching the friendships form after breakfast is over. I often see the guests sitting on the porch together, glass of wine in hand, chatting and enjoying the company of one another. They sometimes exchange emails, so they can stay in touch. I even have a couple who met at the inn, and travel back each year, meeting up with one another, like a reunion.
The next time you are in Cape Charles, I hope you will book a stay at our inn, so you can see The Breakfast Matchmaker in action! Even though this is an unexpected role as an innkeeper, it is one I have come to love and cherish very much!
