Adventure and fine dining at The Wooden Duck

An Andover couple's hospitality background has helped make The Wooden Duck Bed & Breakfast a fine treat for guests. Next month Jason and Maryann Jerome celebrate 25 years as innkeepers, chefs and hospitality aficionados. They purchased the bed and breakfast in Andover six years ago.

“Our twin sons were graduating from college, moving out and starting careers of their own, and we were looking for a change, for our next chapter,” Jason said. “Over the years we had always enjoyed visiting B&B’s while traveling."

That's when they noticed a local property that they felt would make a great bed and breakfast inn. But they knew starting an inn from scratch might be a challenge.

"So we began to research and investigate what it would take to own and operate a B&B of our very own.”

When the couple first met years ago, they worked together at a steakhouse. Jason cooked and Maryann served.

“It’s almost like we have come full circle,” Maryann said. “Over the years, our home served as the place where family and friends gathered so it seemed natural to us that we would make great innkeepers.”

Maryann worked previously as a nurse and she feels that innkeeping is providing service and compassion in a similar way. Jason worked closely with healthcare professionals and administrators to develop and customize computer systems based on clients' needs.

“It's much like pairing a particular room to create an special experience for our guests,” he said

The Jeromes took a seminar for aspiring innkeepers with a company called The B&B Team. They were former inn owners who helped consult, evaluate and broker properties.

“We learned so much and felt this might be the right move for us,” Maryann said. “The whole process just felt serendipitous, so we took a leap of faith and here we are.”

It was through the B&B Team that the couple connected with The Wooden Duck's previous owners who were looking to retire.

Now, the Jeromes live in the estate house, which has seven guest rooms in addition to the owners' quarters and a carriage house with three additional rooms.

“We are very hands on as owners and one of us is typically on-site at all times,” Jason said. “We have a small staff for housekeeping duties. We also maintain all the gardens and our 14 acres. Just like any large house there are always a work-list of things to do. Maryann’s budget is for new lamps or pillows while Jason’s is for a new chain saw or other tool.”

Over the years, they have renovated and updated the décor, while preserving the character that The Wooden Duck has to offer.

“Marketing is the thing that was really new to us,” Maryann said. “We completely rebuilt our website, adding content for restaurants and local attractions unique to our area. We implemented a reservation system offering a more "user friendly" experience for our guests when they are booking. We learned the process of search engine optimization for Google, we post on many social media sites, and we are members of the Sussex County and Greater Newton Chambers of Commerce.”

With their culinary background, the couple had no problem jumping into the cooking aspect of the business. Maryann is basically the chef and makes all of the main courses and baked goods while Jason is sous-chef and does most of the grill work. Everything for over-night guests is prepared on-site. Maryann is also the primary server for the dining room.

“On a busy day we serve between 20 to 24 overnight guests breakfast,” Maryann said.

Breakfast specialties include three courses served in the dining room, overlooking the gardens and pool.

“A typical main dish could be a savory selection of quiches or a decadent stuffed French toast,” Maryann said. “We serve home baked breads or muffins, fresh seasonal fruit and a main dish prepared by the chef, all with unlimited juice and coffee or tea. If you stay for a week, you will never have the same dish twice, and our guests also enjoy watching the birds have breakfast too.”

Guests come from all walks of life and enjoy varying activities.

“We really have no one demographic of travelers,” Jason said. “We have guests from all around the globe visiting us here, all traveling from different continents and for many different reasons. Some come for their anniversary. We had an adorable couple here for four days from Pennsylvania. They were celebrating 50 years of marriage and chose The Wooden Duck to celebrate with.”

Some of The Wooden Duck's guests return three or four times per year.

“Some of our visitors are newlyweds, parents babybooming birthday celebrations, mother/daughter or friend getaways, grandparents visiting family, antiquers, hikers, bikers and generally outdoor enthusiasts,” Maryann said. “We also get many weekday business travelers. Everyone is looking to relax, unwind and unplug and enjoy all that the Skylands region has to offer.”

Guests are attracted to The Wooden Duck's privacy and peace and quiet. The estate is surrounded by its own 14 acres and then by the thousands of acres in Kittatinny Valley State Park.

“The views are amazing,” Jason said. “Our rooms are all named for breed of ducks and range in price from an economy level up through deluxe, so there is something for everyone.”

The Wooden Duck is a member of Select Registry Distinguished Inns of North America, who perform spontaneous quality inspections to make sure we remain at a high level for service and accommodations.

Designed, originally, as a private residence for a family with the last name Rutgers, the family owned a historic house elsewhere in New Jersey and used those plans to replicate the house as a country estate in Andover Township. While the 1924 designs were used for the house, it was actually built in the 1970s.

In 1994, the Rutgers family sold the property to Bob and Barbara Hadden. They named the inn after their carved wooden duck collection, and converted it from a four-bedroom house to a 10-bedroom bed and breakfast, accepting their first guests in April 1995. The second owners were the Krummels, who bought it in 2014, then on to the Jeromes.

The couple's biggest challenge has been marketing and social media: spreading the word locally and afar and reaching generations young and old.

“The most difficult thing is competing with the online travel services and educating travelers on 'booking directly,'" Jason said. "Travel services like Expedia actually hurt small businesses like us greatly by taking large commissions. We always offer better rates, packages and even frequent guest discount when booking directly via our website.”

The Jeromes say that the rewards outweigh the challenges.

“Owning and operating The Wooden Duck Inn has given us the opportunity to have met so many people from all over the world, we now call friends,” Maryann said. “We have fostered relationships with local business owners and encourage our guests to discover what Sussex County has to offer. We are proud to be a representative Skylands area community.”

The Wooden Duck Bed & Breakfast is located at 140 Goodale Road in Andover Township (Newton for GPS purposes). Call 973-300-0395, e-mail info@woodenduckinn.com or visit

Visit www.woodenduckinn.com to book or for further information.