The Richards House Bed and Breakfast is an inn that is located in Dubuque, Iowa, which is a city situated on The Mississippi River. People can make reservations for one of the six available suites year-round and take advantage of several events that occur in Dubuque and other nearby cities. Dubuque also has a variety of restaurants and places of entertainment that people can visit during their stay, like a ski resort, golf courses, or botanical gardens. The inn is able to house pets and children of all ages. The bed and breakfast has been in business for over 30 years, but the home was built over 100 years ago by a man named Mr. Richards, which is where the inn received its name.
The Richards House Bed and Breakfast has a total of six guest rooms spread out on the first, second, and third floors of the house. One suite is located on the first floor, four can be found on the second floor, and the last one is on the third floor. The Library Suite is on the first floor and has two working fireplaces. According to the owner, one unique aspect of the room is that there are a dozen stained glass windows, and it spans almost half of the first floor. Another suite that can be reserved at the bed and breakfast is The Blue Room, which has a fireplace and was refurbished a few years ago to have a walk-in shower with glass walls. Three of the stained glass windows are from the original house and have been maintained over the years. Due to the fact that the original owner of the house was a woodworker back in 1883, each room is uniquely decorated with a different type of wood than the other rooms. Each room has a queen-sized bed, television with cable, access to wireless internet, and DVDs that can be borrowed. Patrons are also invited to breakfast each morning.
Breakfast is served every morning in the dining room. The meal changes on a daily basis so that guests who are staying for multiple nights will get different dishes for breakfast. The owner has made items like blueberry crumb muffins, baked peaches, pancakes, eggs, and bacon in the past. Accommodations can be made for visitors who are on special diets, like gluten-free or vegetarian, or have allergies, as long as she is told in advance and has enough time to prepare dishes that match the requirements.
The first floor offers two common areas for guests to spend time in: the music room and the dining room. The music room is typically used as a place for people to play games and lounge. The Richards House Bed and Breakfast also has a store that sells pottery and books, including a nationwide cookbook that the owner of the business, Michelle, helped put together. Michelle describes the outside as being "a postage stamp yard." The backyard is larger than the front yard and has a magnolia tree and a catalpa tree.
Outside of The Richards House Bed and Breakfast is the town of Dubuque, which is located on the western portion of The Mississippi River and on the border between Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Dubuque and Galena, a city about 15 miles away in Illinois, are two of the larger towns in the area and offer a number of events throughout the year. One activity that takes place in Dubuque is an annual chili cookoff that occurs in the fall. Galena has hosted The Boy Scout Jamboree, where boy scouts will spend some time camping and doing scout activities. Both Galena and Dubuque also have ski resorts that open in the winter.
Dubuque also has a wide variety of restaurants, especially near the downtown area. The owner of The Richards House Bed and Breakfast likes to recommend places to people where they can get food for lunch or dinner. Oolong Asian Cuisine and Great Dragon Express are two restaurants near Downtown that specialize in food that originates from Asia. Another restaurant that the owner names to her patrons is called Mario's Italian Restaurant, which serves a variety of sandwiches, pizza, and pasta.
Michelle, the owner of The Richards House Bed and Breakfast, has various goals for the property. One such goal is to update the outside of the building and grounds and make an effort to improve the business continually. She would like her guests to feel comfortable and at home when they come. In her own words, "Sometimes we are the destination, and sometimes we are one-stop on their way from point A to B." One thing that she does in hopes to help occupants enjoy their time at the bed and breakfast is to have snacks available throughout the day. There is an area on the second floor where patrons can get cookies and cake leftover from breakfast and a fridge that has wine and soda, allowing visitors to eat snacks if they would like.
Another aspect of the property that the owner attributes to helping people have an enjoyable stay is that there are only a few policies. Smoking is not allowed inside the building but can be done outside, which is an order of the fire marshal. Quiet time begins at about 10:00 PM, though Michelle mentions that it has not been an issue that she needs to outwardly state. Children of all ages and pets are allowed to stay at the property as long as they are adequately taken care of and looked after.
According to the owner, The Richards House Bed and Breakfast tends to be most known for the provided breakfast and snacks. The owner, Michelle, explains that when the bed and breakfast first began, someone that was staying at the inn asked if he could have some leftover cake when breakfast was over. She agreed and got it for him, then decided to keep leaving the leftovers in a place where people could get more food if they wanted.
The typical demographic of visitors is usually a wide range from young adults in their 20s and 30s to older couples. The Richards House Bed and Breakfast is open year-round, with the busiest time of the year being in the fall, specifically during the month of October. The owner reports that there are a few colleges in Dubuque, such as the University of Dubuque and the Clarke University, so they tend to have a number of families and parents making reservations to see their children at college. There are also a few events that are hosted by the college near the end of the year, including parents' weekend and homecomings, that guests typically will come into town to attend.
Regardless of why guests are staying at the inn, many of the previous patrons have left reviews about how their stay went. One person who had a reservation at The Richards House Bed and Breakfast wrote, "My wife and I stayed here for one night, and it was a great stay. We got a tour of the place, and I was amazed at the history of this house. The Library Suite was amazing. Where else can you find books from the late 1800s that you can look at?"
The Richards House Bed and Breakfast is named after the original owner of the land, Mr. Richards. Mr. Richards paid to have the house built in 1883. He worked in the lumber and woodworking industry for many years, which is one reason why the house has a wide variety of types of wood. Mr. Richards was also a banker and legislature in the community, which is how he was able to afford a large home.
Michelle is the current owner of The Richards House Bed and Breakfast and is also the one who created the bed and breakfast in the first place. She purchased the building in 1989 and repurposed the home to accommodate patrons for short stays. Before the bed and breakfast was established, the four-story house was used as a single-family home for about 106 years.
In the time that she has owned the property, there have been a variety of changes that have been made to both maintain the history of the house and make it available for people to stay. The lighting was switched from gas light fixtures to electricity, as well as the addition of new furnaces, reworking the roof, updating the chimneys, and improving the heating and air-conditioning. In the future, Michelle plans on painting the outside of the house.
She was led into the industry because she and her husband liked the house. Michelle explains that they had a friend who had opened a bed and breakfast, and they wanted to do the same. Along with all of the work that comes with running a business, the owner explains that she enjoys talking to the guests and learning about where they are from and where they are going.
1492 Locust Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001
United States
Bed and Breakfast
Michelle
