Kevin Allen had no intention of moving back to Illinois, but a house in Champaign changed his mind. Allen grew up in Stonington, studied at the University of Illinois and got his first taste of the hospitality business at University Inn, which has since become an apartment complex.
“I started there in the restaurant as a busboy — that was my first retail job,” Allen said. “I loved it and I’ve been in it ever since.”
He eventually moved to California, where he lived for 20 years and ran a 40-room bed and breakfast called the Rose Garden Inn, but Allen wanted his own place.
Any building in California that would suit his needs was too expensive; he would find a place, then learn it was going for $1.5 million or more.
On a visit home with his husband, Daniel Menzies, Allen thought to look up houses in the ChampaignUrbana area and discovered an old home at 411 W. Hill St. for sale.
“We were only here for four or five days, and we looked at it twice,” Allen said. “We went back and we just couldn’t get it out of our heads.”
The couple didn’t plan to move when they came to visit in 2014, but it was just too perfect: The house was beautiful and the nearby university would bring in a steady stream of potential guests. It was in a much better price range, too.
“We sold Daniel’s one-bedroom condo for what we paid for this,” Allen said.
When their bid was accepted, they hired someone to look after the building for a few months before moving to town to start setting up the Champaign Garden Inn.
The house was built in 1901, so Allen is the most recent in a long line of owners. Allen can point out the former inhabitants’ influences on the home over the years and has met a handful who came to stay since he opened the bed and breakfast.
Owner Kevin Allen and his mother-in-law, Kathy Menzies, take care of day-to-day operations and guest interactions while Allen’s husband and Menzies’ son, Daniel Menzies (not pictured), handles paperwork and accounting.
One woman lived in the house for a while with her six children, renting out some of the rooms for income. After she died, her kids visited the Garden Inn.
“It was like walking down memory lane for them, and it was kind of fun to hear the old story,” Allen said.
Allen credits that family for retaining a lot of the original aspects of the building.
“The lady who lived here, the widow, she never did anything to the house, and that’s one reason it’s so beautiful,” Allen said. “In the ’60s and ’70s, people painted all the woodwork and carpeted all the hardwood. This would’ve all gone.”
The B&B has completely modern amenities, but Allen has kept the woodwork and most of the wallpaper and tiling that were in place when he bought it — even if that retro tile is frustrating to clean.
“It’s pretty stunning … although I hate it, because every little thing shows up,” Allen said.
Allen also keeps an eye out for vintage furniture and decor to keep with the theme of the house, with the exception of things like mattresses and bedding that he wants to guarantee are new for the guests.
These days, the inn is a threeperson operation: Menzies handles most of the paperwork and accounting, while his mother, Kathy Menzies, and Allen take care of the day-to-day and interacting with guests. Kathy Menzies lives in the inn now, but it took some convincing for her to join her son and son-in-law in Illinois.
“I’ve been glad to be back, but it’s been harder on Mom and Daniel because they’re California born and bred,” Allen said.
Daniel Menzies was worried, too, about moving to a more rural area as a gay couple — Allen remembers he didn’t want to hold hands while walking in public when they first visited.
After they rounded a corner right into the CU Pride Fest, those concerns were put to rest. Now that they’ve had time to acclimate, Kathy Menzies still isn’t happy about the cold winter months, but she spends her time sewing and conversing with guests at the B&B.
Allen has more plans for the future, like new plants in the garden and updates to the outdoor seating area, but the family is here to stay.