December 3, 2006

Bed and Breakfast Business Blossoms

by KIRSTEN FAIRCHILDS - SENTINEL CORRESPONDENT

WATSONVILLE — When Pam and Stephen Dunlap first met in a California history class at Foothill College in Los Altos, they had no idea that more than 30 years later they would be immersed in the exact same subject.

Married for 31 years, the Dunlaps are the owners of Freedom Rose House Bed and Breakfast in Watsonville. On Freedom Boulevard, the bed and breakfast rents out four elegant yet distinctly different rooms that come with a full breakfast prepared by Pam, 53, and served by Stephen, 58.

The Dunlaps have traced the history of the Queen Anne-style Victorian to the 1880s, which is when they say a family by the name of Eaton owned the property on which the house still stands.

Decorated with numerous antiques — one piece is actually older than the house, as are some of the cookbooks — the bed and breakfast lives up to its name with a backyard rose garden made up of more than 200 rosebushes. Another unique feature to the establishment is the culinary library, which comprises more than 15,000 cookbooks and is overseen by Pam's mother and the library's founder, Jean Fortenbery.

Although it has a Watsonville address, the house is actually in Freedom, according to Pam. She said that while researching old deeds she discovered the Pajaro Valley Fruit Co. once owned the property as well. Pam's parents, Jean and her husband, Ken Fortenbery, bought the house as a rental property in the 1970s.

The Fortenberys were living in Palo Alto and the Dunlaps in Scotts Valley when the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake struck, nearly demolishing the house, which had been built upon a brick foundation. Because the Fortenberys had earthquake insurance, they elected to rebuild and, in the process of gutting the house, discovered it had been built almost entirely out of redwood that had been milled in nearby Corralitos.

A retired architect, Ken saved as much of the original house as he could, including trim, molding and fireplace mantels. "It was a true Victorian home," said Pam, who was born in Berkeley and raised in Palo Alto. "There were no closets or hallways. Victorians are built like a box and broken up into squares. "When my father decided to renovate it, he lifted it up and gutted it," she continued. "The whole house had square nails and redwood construction. The house was 100 years old and there was virtually no termite damage whatsoever."

The renovation took five years to complete, with Ken working as the main contractor and his daughter handling the refurbishing tasks of selecting wallpaper, carpets, antique furniture and paint.

Pam said that by the year 2000 the house had gotten too big for her 80-year-old parents, who decided to sell the house and move into a rental property they owned next door.

Pam and Stephen, a Southern California native, decided to buy the house and within a year they were taking steps to turn it into a bed and breakfast. "Steve and I have always gone to bed and breakfasts," said Pam, a former commercial artist for a model-making company in Mountain View. "We always loved the idea of one day opening our own."

The Freedom Rose House opened for business on Nov. 5, 2004. Business was slow in the early going, but word of mouth and repeat customers continue to increase, Pam said. Most guests have said they discovered the Rose House online.

The four private rooms available are the Lavender Rose Room, the Peacock Suite, the Tulip Room and the Quilt Room. Each room has both a TV and VCR as well as phone jacks.

The parents of two grown children — Brian, 26, and Mary, 23 — the Dunlaps said they are enjoying their new venture. Stephen continues to work full-time as a pricing analyst for FedEx during the week, but is quick to help out when he is home.

According to Pam, who is in charge of cooking, cleaning, marketing and just about everything else, the Freedom Rose House will begin hosting outdoor weddings, which should help increase business.

"I've learned that you can't be in this business for the money," Pam said. "Of course, it's my job so you would like to make money, but mostly, I'd like to have a lower vacancy rate.

"That's the part of my job I love. That's what's most rewarding. Meeting people. Having people here."

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