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DUNCAN -- Every time Robin Duke looks around the Quamichan Inn, she spots something else than needs doing.
This time, it's a small, picturesque rock stairway with rust-coloured moss growing on it. It escaped a recent power-washing over other areas.
Then Duke laughs, saying anything that doesn't get done just adds to the character of the 1911 Tudor-style building that has hosted uncounted weddings, anniversaries and other special events.
Duke, husband Paul Miller, and two silent partners bought the 7,300-square-foot inn on 3.27 acres last week. The historic building at 1478 Maple Bay Rd. is closed for a facelift, with new paint in earth tones and tidied grounds. It reopens Oct. 4 for dinner from Wednesdays to Sundays, with a new lounge offering appetizers and drinks. After Christmas, the aim is to offer lunches on Thursdays and Fridays, as well as special events on Wednesdays, and to attract daytime conferences.
The goal is to have five bed-and-breakfast rooms reopened in November, Duke said.
Glen Naylor, Duncan-Cowichan Chamber of Commerce president, said, "The business community is psyched about it."
The inn has a long history in the Cowichan Valley, and Naylor is hoping it will regain its former stature. "We
have had Christmas parties there, people have got married in their gardens. People got engaged there. It's a beautiful property."
Duke is a recipient of the chamber's Black Tie Award for business excellence, he said. "She's got good history in running a successful business. She knows what it takes."
This is a new direction for Duke, who closed her business, Robin's Country Quilts, to take on the job of the inn's public face and to learn the business of running a restaurant and bed-and-breakfast. Miller, co-founder of Millstone Heating and Sheet Metal, also will be involved.
The inn was originally built as a private home. In 1969, Archie and Sheila Owens, friends of Duke's parents, bought it, converting it into a country inn. "I grew up having dinner here on special occasions," Duke said.
In those days, the owners opened the door to guests, creating a welcoming atmosphere. Duke plans to follow that example.
"I want a friendly place with the most fantastic food there is."
Clive and Pam Cunningham owned the inn from 1981 to early 2004, making their mark with fine food and heritage decor. Subsequent owners scaled back the operation and sold the inn this year.
The Cunninghams set high standards, Duke said, "This place is gorgeous at Christmas. There must be at least 15 boxes of Christmas decorations." Pam Cunningham "did a phenomenal job of weddings and special events."
When the "For Sale" sign went up on the property, Duke, 49, could not resist the challenge.
"I have just sort of plunged in," she said cheerfully. "I've got lots of ideas. I've got lots of enthusiasm."
She is thrilled that former chef Steve Mugridge, who worked for the Cunninghams for four years, agreed to return. "That really clinched the deal for us because he is phenomenal." Also back for three months is Claire Killick, who worked closely with the Cunninghams, to help Duke start up. Killick said, "It is a beautiful old place and it deserves to be successful. The valley needs it."
The Inn will have a historical link to Victoria when Duke moves in family furniture and art. Joseph Despard Pemberton, surveyor general of Vancouver Island, was her great-grandfather. His daughter Sophie Pemberton was a well-known artist.
Two Sophie Pemberton paintings, of Duke's grandmother and her twin brother, will be mounted in the inn's entrance. Duke has already set up her collection of Toby mugs in one of the five dining rooms. One has Winston Churchill's face, under a Churchill picture.
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2006