The Bowmans say goodbye to the Red Rocker Inn
Bed & breakfast owners retire after 15 years in Black Mountain
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
August 9, 2022
Doug and Jenny Bowman became the sixth owners of the property now known as the Red Rocker Inn when they purchased the bed and breakfast in 2007. The couple is retiring after owning and operating the inn for 15 years. Photo by Fred McCormick
Warm and heartfelt farewells have long been part of the daily routine for Doug and Jenny Bowman. From the inviting confines of their 125-year-old Victorian bed & breakfast, situated in the historic Dougherty Heights neighborhood near downtown Black Mountain, hospitality has been a way of life for their entire family.
The most bittersweet goodbye of them all, however, came Aug. 8, when the couple retired after 15 years as owners and operators of the Red Rocker Inn.
Doug and Jenny were seeking a new path for their family in 2007, following a 24-year career in the church camp ministry. Contemplating a future in the hospitality industry, they began searching for an established bed and breakfast with the potential to meet their needs.
“We had five kids, so we needed something big enough to support the whole family,” said Jenny, who, along with her husband, visited and researched places from Vermont to Colorado. “That includes college and weddings and all kinds of stuff, so we were looking for the right fit.”
They found one with a lengthy history on a crisp October day in Black Mountain.
“We immediately fell in love with it,” Doug said of their first time visiting the inn. “The building itself, and the town.”
Built in 1897 by Silas Dougherty, one of the town’s first elected leaders and postmaster at the time, the two-and-a-half-story residence was initially called Mountain View. As the family’s sons grew up and left the home, the original owners and their daughter, Sadie, began taking in seasonal guests.
Sadie and her husband, Alfred Tyson, Sr., continued to operate the boarding house, which they expanded and renamed the Dougherty Heights Inn, through the 1950s. The family sold the home when Sadie passed away in 1970.
Purchased by a Florida-based investment company, the property was rebranded the Red Rocker Inn, but fell into disrepair by the end of the decade. The bed and breakfast found new life in 1984, when it was acquired by Fred and Pat Eshleman, who installed central heat and air conditioning and oversaw extensive renovations during their 15 years operating the business.
Improvements continued with the Lindberg family, who reduced the number of bedrooms, upgraded bathrooms and spruced up the grounds before selling the 17-room inn to the Bowmans.
“This was going to be the place we worked until we retired,” Doug said. “We knew right away that we liked being here. The Red Rocker Inn is just continuously blessed with good guests. We, like the owners before us, had a lot of repeat customers.”
One of the most difficult adjustments, moving from a seven-bedroom house to the one-room apartment above the carriage house behind the inn, allowed the new owners a glimpse into the experience of their guests.
“Our three youngest children are all girls, so they used the bedroom in the apartment,” Jenny said of the family’s first five months operating the Red Rocker. “Doug and I slept in the inn, hopping room-to-room every night, depending on availability. It was exhausting, but we got to know the inn really well.”
The family quickly found a home in Black Mountain, and their first year as innkeepers was filled with promise, but the onset of the Great Recession in 2008 heralded a new set of challenges.
“The next few years, 2009, 2010 and 2011, just about killed us,” Doug said. “I tell people if I wasn’t so dumb, we would’ve lost this place. We hung on longer than a lot of people would have.”
The Red Rocker Inn was known as Mountain View when it was built by Silas Dougherty in 1897. Photo by Fred McCormick
The Bowmans, however, remained undeterred.
“We didn’t have any other options,” Jenny said. “We had to come through the recession, and make it a success. We’re very proud we made it through.”
The family’s perseverance was rewarded in 2014, when they began a series of renovations that were delayed by the economic downturn.
“That year, we painted the house, put a new roof on and refinished all the hardwood floors,” Doug said. “Every year, when people came back, I wanted them to see a new garden or other enhancements, so guests knew we were always making it better for them. And, we had fun doing it.”
As projects aimed at restoring the home’s elegance and charm became annual occurrences, running the Red Rocker proved to be a family endeavor for the Bowmans.
“All of our kids have worked here, at one point or another,” Doug said.
“That’s been fabulous,” Jenny added. “I’ve been able to spend time with some of my children every day. We bounce ideas off each other, develop menus together and help each other. I feel like that working relationship is a big part of the reason I’ve become friends with them now that they’re adults.”
Their daughter, Kaylea Lamson, worked as a server during high school before earning a culinary degree at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. At the age of 23, she became the Red Rocker’s head chef.
“She was the head chef for nine years,” Jenny said. “She was one of the youngest head chefs in Black Mountain, and she was one of, if not the only, female in that position in town at the time.”
Lamson stepped down from her role in the kitchen to start a family in 2021, but she didn’t have to go far for the next chapter in her career.
Founded by another of the couple’s daughters, Krista Bowman, and her business partner Dorothy Goodman, Four Sisters Bakery opened its doors on the south side of the Red Rocker Inn property in the fall of 2018. The neighborhood bakery quickly established itself as a popular destination for customers seeking a variety of freshly baked goods.
Lamson became a full-time employee at the bakery when she left the bed & breakfast, and Four Sisters will continue its normal operation as the Red Rocker enters a new era of ownership.
“She’s been incredibly successful and, as parents, that’s been very rewarding,” Doug said of Krista. “It was always important for her to walk her own path, and she’s been such a big part of creating something special there.”
While retirement was always the goal for Doug and Jenny, leaving a place that holds so many special memories will not be easy.
Doug and Jenny Bowman relax on the porch of the Red Rocker Inn, which they sold Aug. 8. The couple, who worked with all five or their children during their 15 years as innkeepers, is retiring to Tennessee. Photo by Fred McCormick
“I have always worked 70-80 hours most weeks,” Doug said. “It’s very common for me to come in at 6 a.m. and go home at 10 p.m. I can’t do that anymore. But, saying goodbye to this place is not easy at all.”
The Bowmans’ love for the inn is reflected in their care for the house and grounds as innkeepers, according to Michael and Katy Clavin Cys, now the seventh owners of the property.
“Doug and Jenny have done a great job of taking a historical gem and transforming it into one of the best bed and breakfasts in the region,” Michael said. “Our goal is to continue that tradition.”
Like their predecessors, the current owners sensed an immediate connection when they visited the inn.
“It felt like home the minute we walked in,” Michael said.
Their experience in Black Mountain brought an abrupt end to the couple’s search for a bed and breakfast, and marked the beginning of a new career for the newlyweds.
“We had a list of five places, and we had just visited the first one,” said Katy, who married Michael in July. “We actually got engaged on our way to the Red Rocker, and once we got there, we threw the list away because we fell in love with it.”
The couple will retain the approximately 20 staff currently employed by the business and does not anticipate any major changes at the inn. Katy, an experienced restaurant owner with a diverse range of professional experience, will likely “tinker” with the menu.
“There is an amazing variety of farms in the area, and we really want to showcase a lot of farm-to-table, locally grown flavor,” she said. “One of the things I’m really excited about is developing and strengthening relationships with local growers.”
The Bowmans’ next chapter will take them to a new lakeside log home in Tennessee, where the couple plans to make the most out of their newfound free time.
“We’re not going to sit in a rocker all day,” Jenny said. “We have plenty of things we want to do.”
Ironically, one of the post-retirement activities they most look forward to is spending time with guests in their new home.
“We’ve got a list of at least 75 people who we’ve gotten to know over the years that we’ll invite to come spend the weekend with us, and do a little fishing,” Doug said. “We’re not done hosting.”
“Right,” Jenny added. “I just want to do it on my terms.”