The Orcas Hotel

The Opportunity

After moving from Santa Barbara to Orcas Island, the experienced chefs and couple, John Cox and Julia Felder, were searching for a project that could be their own. In 2019, they came across a property that checked off all their boxes: had a restaurant, had some history, had a view of the water, and — most importantly — was in their budget.  

The property was a historic, underperforming 12-room Victorian style hotel and café built in 1904. Even though it was a hotel, John and Julia felt they could take it on, since 80% of the revenue was made through the café. All they needed now was financing.  

The Challenge

John and Julia were not the only people who saw the potential of this B&B. At its price point, there were plenty of people that felt they could put down 20% and afford the monthly payments. But since being listed, at least two buyers couldn’t get financing because they didn’t have the experience to run a B&B that relied so heavily on food and beverage sales.  

John and Julia were introduced to Celtic through a broker and were quickly paired with a loan officer. Their loan officer saw the potential of the property and saw that John and Julia had the perfect experience and training to run such a food-service heavy hotel.  

Because of their over 20 years of industry experience and strong management plan, Celtic was able to extend $996,000 in funds to help make John and Julias’ dream a reality. 

The Solution

John and Julia got the keys to the property the beginning of February 2020, shortly before COVID-19 hit Washington state. When other restaurants in the area hunkered down, they pivoted to provide meal prep and food-delivery to over 80% of the residents on Orcas Island.  
 
Two years and a pandemic later, John and Julia have increased revenues 50% from where they were in 2019.