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Work We Do: Donna Perrin, Bay Breeze Inn

My name is Donna Perrin and I’m the owner, operator and innkeeper here at the Bay Breeze Inn in South Jamesport. 

So no two days are definitely alike here, from guests checking in and enjoying their experience here, including dining. But my normal day is to typically come in the building, I do basically a property management check if you will. So, I check the grounds and make sure everything is looking as it should. Also, I check the rooms before people actually check into them.

Lots of cleaning happens here. I also bartend as well. So if I’m not bartending I might be scrubbing a toilet or answering the phone or greeting a guest or being their concierge for the day.

I’ve been here at the Bay Breeze since 2016. My husband and I have been in hospitality since college and that’s where we met. And we opened the Cedar House on Sound Bed & Breakfast back in 2010. So we live in Mattituck and we’ve operated that for eight years. In addition to all of that, we have two young children. I call them the restaurant inn kids. My husband and I have always been big entertainers, whether we do that at home for fun, but we made it our full-time jobs.

The guest interaction is always very interesting because you meet so many people from all walks of life. I love my office because we’re steps away from the Peconic Bay, so I get my saltwater therapy daily. Something about this industry, too, is that you’re always multitasking and we’re not really programmed to do that. So when I need to take a break, I just walk outdoors.

It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lifestyle.

That’s the beauty of the hospitality business. If you don’t make it your lifestyle, I don’t know that you can succeed because it is a lot of work.

“The Work We Do” is a News-Review multimedia project profiling workers around Riverhead Town. It is made possible by Peconic Landing in Greenport. See more photos on Instagram @riverheadnewsreview