BRISTOL - Debra Krohn hopes to someday sit down to an uninterrupted dinner. For most people, this would seem a simple request, but for the owner of a successful bed and breakfast inn it is almost impossible.

She may soon get her wish. The Rockwell House Inn is for sale and she is calling it quits. Listed on www.isoldmyhouse.com for $1.275 million (plus an extra $100,000 for the bed & breakfast business and most of the furnishings), Bristol's longest operating bed and breakfast may, before long, have a new owner hoping for a few peaceful moments at the supper table.

The Rockwell House is listed for $1.275 million. PHOTO BY RICHARD W. DIONNE JR.

The inn at 610 Hope St. was the brainchild of Debra and her husband, Steve. The Krohns first came to came to Rhode Island in 1990 when Steve interviewed for a job at Sakonnet Vineyards.

The couple was living near Albany, N.Y., at the time and decided to follow a scenic route around Narragansett Bay on their way home from the Tiverton vineyard. Their meandering brought them north on Route 114 to Bristol. They decided to stop and see the town.

"We put a coin into one of the (since-removed parking) meters, and walked all over," Ms. Krohn said, recalling sitting on a bench overlooking Bristol Harbor from Rockwell Park. "It was the Fifth of July and Bristol was immaculate ... there were flags everywhere."

At that point Ms. Krohn told her husband that he had to get the vineyard job. He did.

Upon moving to Rhode Island, they wanted to live in Bristol but couldn't find an apartment to meet their needs. So they went for the next best thing and rented a place near Sakonnet Vineyards. While in Tiverton, the Krohns befriended Mike and Mary Rose who ran the Pilgrim House, a bed and breakfast in Newport.

Ms. Krohn found the bed and breakfast business appealing. The professional speech pathologist soon accepted a job as assistant innkeeper with the Roses in the summer of 1991.

"I worked that full summer, from June through October," she said, knowing before the end of the season that she wanted to open her own inn.

The Krohns learned that the Rockwell House was for sale. On their first trip to Bristol, the couple had admired the huge pink house and thought it would make a great bed and breakfast.

The house was built for Colonel Giles Luther in 1809. Col. Luther was a shipmaster, merchant and farmer and, as Ms. Krohn noted, "the very first Fourth of July Parade chief marshal (in 1826)." It was later the home of Charles Bristed Rockwell Sr., owner of the Cranston Worsted Mills along the Bristol waterfront.

Its 4,400-square-foot interior contains many exceptional features such as a fully-equipped modern kitchen, a dramatic stone turret "courting-corner" fireplace, huge pocket doors, elaborate parquet floors, 7 1/2 bathrooms, 6+ bedrooms and handsome hand-stenciling throughout. The half-acre garden also contains the largest tulip tree in Rhode Island.

The Rockwell family donated the Federal-style house to the Bristol District Nurses Association in 1915. The District Nurses operated Rockwell House as a clinic until 1973 when it once again became a private residence.

The Krohns purchased the house and did some remodeling — adding bathrooms and moving a doorway here and there. They bought furniture, china and a sign for the lawn. Ms. Krohn then began to market Bristol's first official bed and breakfast inn.

"They thought we were crazy," she said, remembering the reaction of most people who learned of their plans. But they persevered, welcoming their first guest in February 1992.

Since that time, Rockwell House Inn has welcomed hundreds of guests for a comfortable king-sized bed and gourmet breakfast. The four guest rooms are handsomely appointed in a style that reflects no particular era but rather says calm and restful.

The inn is open all year, but most guests come during the warm months. Prior to Sept. 11, 2001, every night in high-season was booked. Now, business is off by approximately 25 percent, much like the national average, according to Ms. Krohn.

In 1999, Debra was recognized by the state with a special award presented by former Gov. Lincoln Almond for her efforts toward promoting tourism in the East Bay. The inn has been featured in Country Homes and Connecticut magazines and was recently included in a New York Times article.

But for the Krohns, the time has come to assume a more private life. The couple is "under contract" for a new home in Bristol. Mr. Krohn will be keeping his sales and marketing director's job at Newport Vineyards. Debra, an American Council on Exercise-certified professional trainer, plans to hang a shingle in downtown Bristol. Both plan to continue their volunteer work with the Bristol County Lions Club (Mr. Krohn is the president this year), the United Brothers Synagogue (Ms. Krohn is in line for president next year) and several other local organizations.

Although anyone would doubt if she'll miss the inn's 35 loads of laundry per week, Ms. Krohn knows that she will miss her guests.

"Some of my dearest friends I met through the inn. I'll miss meeting the people," she said. Her commute may get just a touch longer, as well.

"Fifteen steps from bedroom to kitchen, what's better than that?" she said.

By Lou Cirillo

Lou Cirillo is a Bristol resident and freelance writer.