By Elissa Grossell, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News 

Mar. 24--There's no place like home. 

But don't tell that to Janice Serr. 

Serr, a bed-and-breakfast owner, would tell you there is some place just like home. 

"(I) have a lot of people who like to stay in a place that's a home away from home." At Just Like Grandma's Bed and Breakfast in Eureka, that's exactly what guests get. 

Serr's guests aren't the only ones looking for the comforts of home. 

Bed-and-breakfasts are increasing in popularity all over the state. B&B owner Lyndy Ireland said while people want a glamorous getaway, "I also think they want a feeling of home and attachment." Ireland and her husband, Kenny, own Triangle Ranch Bed and Breakfast in Philip, near the Badlands. They also share the presidency of the Bed and Breakfast Innkeepers of South Dakota. 

The association was formed nine years ago as a cooperative advertising and referral organization for B&Bs, Ireland said. There isn't an actual reservation service, but there is a central 800-number for referrals. 

Bed and breakfasts have been popular on the coasts for more than 20 years, Ireland said. 

And during those years, the industry has grown. According to the Lanier Travel Guides Web site, www.travelguides.com, there were 1,200 inns with 1 million guests in 1982. In 1998, there were an estimated 40,000 inns and guesthouses serving 37 million to 39 million guests. 

B&Bs only really started to take off in South Dakota about 10 years ago, Ireland said. There are currently more than 100 lodgings registered as bed-and-breakfasts or inns with the state Department of Health. And while tourism used to be centered in western South Dakota, the state Department of Tourism is now starting to focus on areas east of the Missouri River, she said. 

So bed-and-breakfasts have been popping up more and more in northeast South Dakota, including Aberdeen. There are at least two B&Bs in the Hub City and several more in the area. 

Jean Jones, assistant director of the Aberdeen Convention and Visitors Bureau, said many people come to Aberdeen for sporting events, hunting and Storybook Land. But they also come to explore Aberdeen. "It's a good stopping-off point." Hotel alternative: Bed-and-breakfasts are one option for people who want something other than a hotel, she said. 

Carla Kaaz would tell you the same thing. 

Kaaz, who owns Foote Creek Bed and Breakfast near Aberdeen with her husband Ron, doesn't see her B&B as being in competition with hotels. "I see us as just another option," she said. 

Foote Creek is a certified BBISD member and is inspected by the state Department of Health. Its four rooms, each with a bathroom, aren't named, but Carla said she's thinking about holding a contest for guests to name the rooms. 

The decision to open a bed-and-breakfast came when "I finally figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up." The Kaazs had done some traveling and had stayed at several B&Bs. 

In 2000, they bought land on Richmond Lake Road and built Foote Creek Bed & Breakfast. They had their first guests in 2001. And, "I'm just having a ball. 

"I want (guests) to leave thinking they've been pampered . . . that they're really special, welcome and taken care of," said Kaaz. Her goal is to have her guests not worry about a thing and wake up in the morning feeling refreshed. 

And as far as types of guests, "We've had them from all over the map," from business people during the week to newlyweds. People come to Aberdeen to visit family, for tournaments, racing or the Brown County Fair, she said. And many people come "just to get away from where they are. 

"B&B people are unique," she said. 

Carla loves to cook -- "I read cookbooks like some people read novels" -- and it shows. Her breakfast list includes: croissant French toast with vanilla sauce and raspberries, wild rice pecan waffles with honey butter, blueberry French toast bake with cream cheese, cranberry wild rice pancakes and Belgian waffles. 

Foote Creek offers special packages, including a theater package with dinner, Aberdeen Community Theatre tickets, coffee and dessert and breakfast in the morning. She is also working on a ladies-night-out package and a murder-mystery package. 

Carla doesn't see other B&Bs as competition either. 

"What makes them unique is they're all different." Anne Maldoon would agree. 

To Maldoon, who owns Shalom Lakeview Cottage on Richmond Lake with her husband Lynn, a bed-and-breakfast is supposed to have something to set it apart from the rest. 

And hers certainly does. 

The four bedrooms aren't really large, she said, but the other rooms -- living room, dining room, downstairs gathering room -- make up for it. 

Downstairs, there is access to the outdoor hot tub, open year-round. 

But what's unique is that the entire house displays evidence of Maldoon's world travels, including artifacts and original artworks from places like Africa, Cameroon, Haiti and New Guinea. One such treasure is a sea chest dating back to the late 1800s that belonged to her mother's stepfather's father, a Great Lakes sea captain. 

In all her travels, Maldoon wasn't really a B&B person, so she never thought she would open a bed and breakfast. "But it's been a lot of fun." "You have to have a sense of humor or it doesn't work very well," she said. And definitely, "the people are what really make it fun." And she said she's always been a big house person -- it's much easier to keep clean, and she likes the space. "Necessary or not, it's a marvelous way to live." 

Maldoon was a pastor at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Groton for eight years. In 1997, she retired and they built Shalom Lakeview Cottage on Richmond Lake. But that summer she suffered a horse riding accident, so the bed-and-breakfast didn't actually open until last year. "It's been a long, slow recovery." It's been a good place to recover, she said, calling it a "place of healing and peace." People have commented that it's peaceful, which is where it got its name. 

They haven't done much marketing, because they've been waiting for her full recovery. Basically, it's been word of mouth, she said. But, "it's growing all at once." They were pretty busy through last fall, with guests from as far as Mississippi and Brooklyn, N.Y. 

Maldoon also doesn't see hotels as competition. "You've got two different kinds of people. 

"There are people who prefer to travel by B&B because it's more leisurely." Unexpected experiences: For Rick Filipek, innkeeper at Redfield Country Inn, it's all about the experience. 

"I really, truly believe that a bed-and-breakfast should be an experience, and that's what I try to achieve," Filipek said. "So when (guests) leave, they leave with that experience." He said he'll often do unexpected things like lighting candles or starting the tub for honeymooners. "It's the extra little things you do for people that they'll remember." Redfield Country Inn, owned by Steve and Caroline Masat and Jerry and Sue Reimer, has been open for about three years. It sits right on the southeast edge of Redfield -- the perfect spot to Filipek. "People that come to get away want to be off the beaten path." The inn has 10 bedrooms, a parlor with a fireplace and a big-screen television set and a dining hall that seats up to 75 people. It also hosts Christmas parties and other events. 

Filipek got into the innkeeping business quite by accident. A photographer and former owner of Rick's Photography in Redfield, his studio was in his home. But about five years ago, Filipek lost his studio in a fire. He started up his business again only to lose it to a fire a second time last summer. 

He needed a place to stay, so he moved into the inn last July. He started doing some cleaning for the owners, who happened to be looking for an innkeeper to live and work at the facility. 

Filipek took over in November, and while it's not something he ever thought he'd be doing, "I enjoy it." (His dog, Oliver, a favorite among guests, also loves it. "He thinks he's the owner.") "When I came in, I did all the decorating," Filipek said. Each room has its own theme, including nautical, the club house and little room on the prairie. The inn's honeymoon suite contains a heart-shaped tub. 

Filipek also does the cooking. "I can't say I love to cook, but I love to entertain," he said. He's no master chef, but he's turned some very simple things into masterpieces. "Presentation is everything." For Serr in Eureka, it's all in the name. And Just Like Grandma's isn't just a catchy name. 

"It looks like a grandma's house," Serr explained, complete with crocheted pillowcases, knick knacks, doilies, a 12-piece antique setting from the 1920s in the dining room and of course, good home cooking. 

German cooking, that is. A typical meal consists of porkchops, potatoes and strudel. Breakfast includes fry sausage and kuchen from the Eureka Kuchen Factory. 

And, "I do dress like a grandma from days gone by," she said, including wearing an apron and her hair in a bun. 

Serr opened Just Like Grandma's in October 1996. "It's a fun business," she said. "You meet people from all over the place," including golfers, hunters and temporary construction workers. 

"It's more like being at home" for them, she said. 

And business has been good. "My business has probably doubled every year since I've been open," she said, crediting mainly word of mouth. 

As for the Irelands in Philip, Lyndy said you always need extra cash flow living on a ranch. She had the choice to either work 30 minutes away in a neighboring town or work at home. They have a charming, historic home, so after the kids had grown, "we decided to take the leap." "(We) get to meet lots and lots of nice people," she said. "And we got to fix the house up." "Personally, it's been a great lifestyle." 

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(c) 2002, American News, Aberdeen, S.D. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.