Business & Tech
Clifton's Canary Cottage Set to Be Sold
Clifton's only Bed and Breakfast is about to change hands and the owners invite the public to say goodbye
Originally built in 1884, the Canary Cottage, Clifton’s only Bed and Breakfast, will soon change hands.
Lynn Garvey-Hodge has lived in and operated the Canary Cottage since 2001. Before she helmed the property, the cottage started as general store and eventually became a private home.
Running a Bed and Breakfast was something Garvey-Hodge had always intended.
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“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do; it’s been a lifelong dream,” Garvey-Hodge said.
For the past decade, she’s been living out that dream. From tending the property’s garden, to decorating the B&B’s three, distinct guestrooms, she said the Canary Cottage has become a special part of her life. Garvey-Hodge works as a management consultant and used revenue from the Canary Cottage to supplement her income. But that will all change quite soon.
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Garvey-Hodge said it looks like she has a buyer for the property and her last day running the place will be sometime in September. Right now, she isn’t sure whether her buyer will continue to run the cottage as a Bed and Breakfast, but the time was right for the sale.
“It seemed an appropriate time to make the shift,” she said.
Looking back on her time with the Canary Cottage, Garvey-Hodge joked that the secret was embracing the “Three T’s.”
“Toast, toilets and towels,” she said. “You have to do all of the above and you have to do it with a smile.”
Owner of the General Store Tom McNamara said while it could be exciting to get “new blood” in Clifton if someone from out of town purchases the property, it will definitely be a letdown if the house is no longer run as a Bed and Breakfast.
“The only thing that would make me sad is it’s the only B&B in Fairfax County,” McNamara said.
Even though Garvey-Hodge will move her business to a new property in Clifton on Blue Dan Lane, the experience of selling the cottage has been bittersweet.
“It’s got a sweet history,” she said. “It is going to be hard to leave it all behind.”
To commemorate its decade as a Bed and Breakfast and as a way to say goodbye, Garvey-Hodge and Rob Airaghi will host an open this Saturday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Canary Cottage at 7153 Main Street.