The beating heart of Westport

The Cove Country Inn, once a grand private home, has been part of Westport for more than a century

It’s old, but it’s new. It’s small, but it’s big. It’s heritage, but it’s modern.

And that’s just the way Seamus Cowan wants to keep it. Owner of The Cove Country Inn, Westport, he is fully aware of the magic of this iconic place that has been a part of Westport longer than anyone can remember.

Seamus Cowan, a professional musician and owner of The Cove, says music gives the vibe and feel of something happening every night through the year.

The Cove building dates back to 1876 when it was built as a grand private home. It was converted to an inn during the late 1920s and lovingly owned by a series of local families under different names until Mary and Terry Cowan restored it in 1988.

Terry and Mary’s three children ‒ Seamus, his twin brother Jeff, and their sister, Jennifer, grew up with The Cove. They lived just across the street in a beautiful heritage home that, tragically, was destroyed by fire about six years ago. The loss shook not only the family but the entire community.

Westport and The Cove are practically synonymous. It’s a waterfront place for Westport residents and local cottagers to gather, dine, attend events, and listen to live music by well-known musicians every day of the week, all year round. 

It’s also a destination for out-of-towners from Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto and beyond, for Americans and Europeans on vacation, for business people attending conferences, for wedding guests and ‒ maybe especially ‒ music lovers.

In addition to a dining room, outdoor patio and lounge, The Cove has 12 cozy rooms that are both old-fashioned and impeccably modern. Another room is slated to be added soon.

The music never stops

Music is The Cove’s heartbeat, and it’s where Seamus shines. A seasoned professional musician himself, he plays with Young Petty Stones (“the music of Neil Young, Tom Petty, and the Rolling Stones -- and sometimes The Eagles”). He also manages the inn’s busy lineup of performers and special events.

The Cove is home base for the MUSICwestport Arts & Music Open Air Festival, which fills the town with live performances on several outdoor stages each summer.

Seamus also helps support Westporch, where residents and businesses turn their porches — including The Cove’s big verandah — into mini concert venues.

“It’s actually very simple what we do here,” Seamus says. “This age-old building is a place that people love to come to for the feel of it. We continue to improve our rooms, events, hospitality, and music so they’re as current as can be but also encapsulate a sense of heritage and familiarity.”

You might call The Cove a “niche” place. It’s the best of both worlds: embracing the past while celebrating the present, the moment.

Live music is one of The Cove’s biggest draws. 

Ready for Music every night of the year. Photo courtesy of The Cove

“When I moved back here 18 years ago from Montreal,” Seamus says, “I wanted to make sure we were surrounded by as much music as possible. It’s helped to give the feel and the vibe of something happening every night all through the year.”

It would be easier in some ways, he admits, to just be a seasonal place. “But what would that do for the village, the community?” 

A gathering place for all

In quieter times, The Cove is a special sanctuary for creatives and craftspeople who gather for retreats or workshops. An artist group meets there twice a year for a week, and a refinished, waterfront meeting room hosts conferences and gatherings. 

“We do so many different things here,” Seamus says. “We have a mixed crowd ‒ all types of people from all walks of life, all genders, all cultures. It’s important to us that everyone is welcome and no one feels we are inaccessible for any reason.”

He says more and more Canadians are choosing places like Westport and The Cove now rather than going across the border because of recent American politics. Americans still visit here, he says, but Canadians are staying home and enjoying not only The Cove but the village and the surrounding Rideau Lakes.

Food, family, and familiar faces

Another big draw, besides the music and cozy hotel rooms, is the food. Seamus attributes this success to two creative sisters: Emily and Sarah Brown, the chefs who run the kitchen; to the incredible food production of the kitchen staff; to Maureen Price, the manager who coordinates groups, weddings and hospitality with her beautiful smile; and to the superb service by dedicated staff and longtime servers.

Seamus’s mother, Mary, still plays an active role at The Cove. Seamus praises her for this “wonderful quality. It shows people her love of the place and the community.” Mary is a familiar face, beloved in the village. Returning customers look for her year after year. 

Seamus is married to Megan Bomberry, who is co-owner of The Cove with him and who is also busy with her own full-time job with 4-H Canada. They have two young sons, Freddie and Sam.