Pleasure Doing Business: Sea Breeze Manor Bed & Breakfast

Lori Rosso stumbled upon a gem of an opportunity nine years ago in acquiring the Sea Breeze Manor Bed & Breakfast. She didn't have much time to ponder the opportunity but took it and ran with it and continues on a fast pace, getting more involved with her community as she goes.

Originally from Long Island, New York, Rosso worked hard to develop a successful career arranging delegation tours for Washington diplomats throughout the 1980s and 90s, ascending to the level of arranging trips for President George Bush (senior). In that role she acquired one of the all-time intricate titles bestowed upon a person: Special Assistant to the Assistant to the President for Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs.

After 20 years she tired of the atmosphere in Washington and discovered the availability of a newly refurbished bed & breakfast in Gulfport. She made the plunge without knowing the community.

“I literally stumbled across it,” she says. “I didn't see the town or know anybody here. I just felt it was time for a change. I was 34 and all things kind of aligned.”

She had 25 days to make a decision to stay in Washington or become the owner of a B&B in a small Florida city on the water and chose the latter. She doesn't regret the decision.

The Sea Breeze Manor building was built in 1923 and was a private residence until 1996 when Lawrence and Patty Burke acquired the property and did a complete restoration, preserving the original elegance of the building and opening it as a B&B.

In 2002 Lori Rosso found out about it and made the move to purchase the building and property and make a go of it herself and ever since has been “chief, cook and bottle washer.” The only thing she doesn't do is housekeeping, which she leaves – on her own account – to those better at it than her. She also has loyal family and friends who cover for her in the event she is tied up with other responsibilities.

She has grown the original idea into a successful business and along the way developed friendships and a lifestyle that she longed for, whether she realized it or not.

“I compare it to a walking anonymous resume for twenty years where the first question out of somebody's mouth is what do you do?” she says, “to being an integral part of a community and you can see the contributions that you make.”

Throughout that time she has grown roots in the community. She is the president of the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce, Chairperson of the Gulfport Waterfront Redevelopment Advisory Board, on the board of the Gulfport Merchants Association and the board of the Gulfport Senior Center Foundation.

There are two dog-friendly cottages at the Sea Breeze in addition to seven suites in the home, each with a private bath, seating area with patio or balcony and wireless Internet. Guests share in a common living room area stocked with port wine, sherry, soft drinks, snacks and a kitchen.

“It's just like going to your favorite aunts house,” she says. “It's been a real adventure. You hear a lot of interesting stories.”

She displays Christmas cards from U.S. presidents and other artifacts at the Sea Breeze from her days in Washington and prepares breakfast for guests each morning but otherwise lets them be.

“For me, it's about respecting your privacy but also being out there to open myself up to you,” she says.

Her repeat guests know not to call her but to email her. She can also count on help from family and friends when she needs it, as she did recently when the Best of the Road team from Rand McNally and USA Today came to town to judge local restaurants for Gulfport as a finalist in its Best for Food competition.

“I love to see when my guests have been here [in town] for a couple of hours and they come back and they're like 'everybody says hello and they're so nice,'” she says. “They're amazed that this still exists, especially in Florida in a beach community.”

The Sea Breeze Manor is, of course, busier in the winter months but always active and still young in building its reputation as a destination. The owner has the advantage of being able to promote it by being such a visible presence in the community but promotes the city and its other businesses with the same vigor, referring to herself as a walking, talking commercial for Gulfport wherever she goes.

As for being the owner of a B&B, she appreciates being the host after being the guest in her line of work for so many years. She also places a priority in helping her guests feel grounded and not lose sight of who they are and not what they do for a living.

“When you walk through that door I want you to throw all of that out and just relax and reconfigure and get back to who you are as a human being and just understand the joy of time spent together without those other stresses.”

The Sea Breeze Manor is open year round and located at 5701 Shore Blvd. in Gulfport. Contact Lori Rosso through her Facebook page or at 727-343-4445.