'Really nice people come to bed and breakfasts'

June 23, 2007
By Corinne DeVries
Chronicle Blog

Larry Robertson and Lisa Tallarico had a dream: To own and run a bed and breakfast.

The husband and wife team spent just a week looking for a place along the Lake Michigan shore when they stumbled on a 1912 bungalow in Whitehall. The place was "a dump" when they found it in 1991. They spent 1993-2002 restoring it to its original glory and named it The Cocoa Cottage. The cottage has a chocolate theme to each room with names like Cadbury, Godiva and Hershey. Homemade chocolate desserts are served.

The Cocoa Cottage Bed and Breakfast, 223 S. Mears in Whitehall, is one of eight bed and breakfasts in Muskegon County. Area bed and breakfast owners say they love their jobs, but there are some drawbacks.

Bed and breakfast owners across the board realize soon after opening that their entire lifestyle will change. No longer can they entertain family when they feel like it. Privacy can become an issue. Their time is not their own -- it's the guests' time and they're on call 24/7.

For the complete story, return to Mlive.com on Sunday, or pick up a copy of Sunday's Muskegon Chronicle Jobs & Business section.