New owners take over Road Runner Motel

Ken Johnston

There are some new faces around the Roadrunner Motel in Rainy River.
Rob Cooper and Audrey Smith recently purchased the motel from Dave and Tammy Armstrong.
Smith, originally from Scotland, has the business in her blood. Her parents ran service type businesses when she first came to Canada a little over two decades ago.
For Cooper it is a new experience having worked in the die and tool industry for years in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. And even Smith has to draw from a ways back having worked most recently in the aerospace industry making switches for Boeing jets and the space shuttle in the Stratford area.
So what brought them to Rainy River to run a motel and restaurant?
Cooper said that they were in Toronto visiting the zoo one day in August and were running out of day and rather than travelling they decided to rent a room at a motel. “It looked nice on the outside, but the inside was in a state of disrepair,” said Cooper. “I said to Audrey that if I owned a place like this it would not be like this.”
The pair decided to look at cashing in everything and buying a motel. They first explored British Columbia, which is where Audrey’s first experiences with the business were. “There was nothing really feasible there,” said Cooper. “And nothing in our price range,” added Smith.
Rob decided to just have a look and see what motels were selling for in Ontario. “This was almost the first one we looked at,” said Rob, referring to the Roadrunner. A week later they flew to Rainy River and checked it out. They liked the motel and restaurant and then decided to stroll around the town. “We fell in love with the town right away. Everyone is so friendly and we had a nice comfortable feeling here,” said Smith.
They flew home and Audrey immediately put a pen to paper drawing up an offer for the Armstrongs. They accepted it right away and the wheels were in motion. While the deal was not 100% finalized, Audrey came just after Halloween to begin learning the ropes at the motel and Chester Fried Chicken restaurant.
The deal became official on Nov. 24th, the same day Rob arrived on the scene to begin working it full time.
The past few weeks have been steady and on Thursday they had their busiest day yet in the restaurant.
Audrey said they plan to start opening for breakfast offering breakfast sandwiches and other morning snacks as well as home baked goodies like muffins and cookies.
They are also looking at adding homemade pizzas to their menu in the near future.
Extended hours are also in the works.
As for the rooms, all 18 units are in really good shape. “We are really pleased with how well the Roadrunner has been kept up. We might do a bit of personal decorating,” said the couple. Down the road they may even add some theme rooms.
“We are open to suggestions from the public for ways to improve any aspect of the business,” said Audrey.
Next week they are planning their grand opening week with specials running from Sunday Dec. 17th to Dec. 23rd (see flyer in paper today). Delivery will also now be available in the town limits.
The couple also brought three children with them, one of which also brought a boyfriend to live here. All the kids are going to school here. The teenage daughter and boyfriend are also working with Rob and Audrey in the business. The two younger boys, 6 and 8 attend Riverview School.
The family has had a lot of help getting going from Val Nelson and Janet Wolanicki. “I can’t say enough about their help,” said Audrey.