Joey Payeur
To Sarah Noonan, La Place Rendez-Vous has always felt like her second home.
“I remember when the big town dock was still (there) and playing on it and if I cut my foot and needed a band-aid, I could just go to the hotel,” smiled Noonan nostalgically.
“My cousin Joelle Blanc (now Paull), my sister Christine and I would play house in the bathrooms, using each of the stalls as rooms.”
The 34-year-old former Fort Frances High School teacher now has the full run of the well-known guest haven that sits overlooking Rainy Lake after taking over recently from her father and the hotel owner, Paul Noonan, as the new general manager of the Vous.
For the younger Noonan, the task of overseeing day-to-day operations of the Vous is something subconsciously she may have been building towards ever since her first days working there as a teenager.
“I started here in Grade 8 as a busser and I’ve done most of the jobs here,” she disclosed.
“I’ve been a server, I did banquets upstairs, I’ve done dishes, I’ve worked groundskeeping, I’ve been at the front desk,” listed Noonan.
“The only things I haven’t done is housekeeping or cook.
“I developed my work ethic here,” she declared.
“It was very fast-paced and it was important to me that I didn’t want the only reason that I had a job here was because I was the boss’ daughter.
“I always wanted to prove myself. That started here and now it’s kind of coming full circle being back here,” she mused.
“I have lots of fond memories and a lot of my friends worked here and they were a fun group of people to work with.”
The transfer of the main responsibility for the hotel to Noonan makes her the third generation of her family to carry the mantle.
Paul’s parents, Leo and Marie-Thérese Noonan, purchased in 1972 what was only a restaurant on the same spot where the current hotel restaurant sits.
In 1976, Paul started working at the restaurant, with his parents making the first move to expand the business into a hotel when the first phase of renovations began in 1984.
Marie-Thérese’s brother, Georges Blanc, moved to Fort Frances soon after and he and Paul would eventually buy out Leo and Marie-Thérese in 1986 with Georges staying on board as owner until 2008.
Noonan’s mother, Diane, also contributed greatly to the business as she took over as the hotel’s bookkeeper after Georges was bought out.
Two more adjoining lots to the property were bought in the mid-80s, with another expansion in 1987 and then again in 1989 to add even more rooms.
In 1992, the upstairs banquet area was constructed, while the last expansion to add further rooms took place in 2000.
“It’s always been very much a family operation,” stated Noonan.
“Even when Grandma and Grandpa retired, Grandpa would still come by and pick up the banking every day and then when he died, Grandma would do it,” she recalled.
“She would spend every day in the restaurant having a cup of soup.
“This place will always have a special connection with my grandparents.”
Sister Christine and brother Michael also worked at the hotel in their younger days, as did Joelle Blanc as an eventual front desk manager and her older brother, Jean-Marc, as a dining room manager.
As the years passed, Noonan discovered her desire to pursue both her teaching and coaching passions.
She was hired by Fort High and had a very successful stretch as coach of the Muskie girls soccer team.
But Noonan said the thought of carrying the torch for the next generation was always in the back of her head.
“Mom always said I had an entrepreneurial spirit,” she said.
“Now with Dad close to wanting to retire and sell, something switched on inside me and I realized I wanted to do this more than teach.
“The family legacy, I think, is special and I want it to continue.”
Noonan is well aware she doesn’t fit the stereotype of hotel general managers when it comes to her age.
But she believes she brings a wealth of positive attributes to the table that outweigh the importance of her birth certificate.
“I’m well-suited for it because I like myself in leadership roles from my past as a coach and as a teacher,” Noonan ventured.
“It’s like a team here and I can use things that I learned in my role as the head of a department at the high school that will help.”
Noonan isn’t planning any major changes to the way the Vous does business, wanting to continue to follow the formula that has made the hotel one of the more popular places for both residents and out-of-town visitors to stay.
But she does have her eye on ushering certain aspects of the business into a more modern era.
“I would like to incorporate a little more technology into the hotel,” she offered.
“I grew up with technology and when it comes to things like how we keep data and do our payroll, technology is such an awesome asset if we can fuse it into our current processes.”
Noonan isn’t walking into the situation blindly, knowing the risks involved with being in charge of such a multi-layered business within a community still trying to find its footing after the closure of the Resolute mill in the last couple of years.
“There’s a little bit of pressure making this choice, departing from an amazing career I enjoyed, as well,” she admitted.
“But I have the optimism and the confidence to do what I need to do to keep it a successful place,” declared Noonan.
“I have a lot to learn and the more I’m learning, the more I understand I don’t know anything.
“But I’m not afraid of the challenge and I’m excited for the opportunity.”
Noonan credited her spouse, Chris Faragher, with being the main reason she was able to bring herself to take this occupational leap of faith.
“This could not be possible without my amazing husband,” she praised.
“He fully supports me in following this dream.”
Noonan pumped the brakes, though, when the topic is raised of the possibility of a fourth generation one day taking over–namely, her children Carmen, 5, Theo, 3 and Stella, just nine months old.
“I’m more worried about diapers and kindergarten right now with them,” she laughed.
