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John and Mary Kendzierski and The Inn at Ellis River THE DREAM OF OWNING AN INN IS REALIZED FOR A COUPLE WHO LEFT THE CORPORATE LIFE
6 servicecu.org | March 2022
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he sign says it all. They weren’t born in Jackson, NH, but they did get there as fast as they could. And, since their move to the scenic North Country town seven years ago, they’ve very much enjoyed their new life as Jackson residents and as proprietors of the Inn at Ellis River. The photo of John and Mary Kendzierski was taken as they were celebrating the signing of the papers to buy the inn in 2014. It was the culmination of a dream they’d had for years, one inspired by their frequent visits to inns in the Jackson area, including the inn they bought. “Every time we left,” John says, “we always said, ‘Wouldn’t it be neat to be an innkeeper?’” A major factor in their decision to finally realize their dream was the stress of their work life in Massachusetts. Living in Plymouth at the time, they both worked for the same company but at different locations. Mary had a four-hour commute. “That is four hours of precious time,” she says. “I know a lot of people do that, but I just didn’t want to do it anymore.” Making the situation worse, the couple worked different shifts to accommodate the care of their daughter Stephanie, then a toddler. Mary worked the day shift, John, the night shift. “I was getting home at 5:30 in the morning,” John says. “I walked in the door as she was walking out.” The commute, the shift work, and the lack of time together was stressful. “I felt like I was 95 years old every day,” Mary says. “We both decided that was it. We needed more quality of life.” Now Mary’s commute is about 50 feet, just a quick walk across the inn’s parking lot, with a river view as an added bonus. The couple is now together most of the time, and there’s lots of opportunity for time with their daughter, who’s now 14. The turning point had come in the spring of 2014, when John attended a seminar on inn ownership. As part of the seminar, he was asked to create a model for ownership of an existing
