The Breakers Inn is a Higgins Beach landmark—a familiar silhouette, a gathering place, a backdrop for generations of summer memories. Part of what has made it so special is the family that ran it for nearly 60 years. Kenneth and Dorothy Laughton purchased the inn in 1957. Their son, Rodney, later took over and ran it for 46 years.
So, news that Rodney and his wife, Debbie, were retiring spread concern through the neighborhood. Maggie Tepas, a lifelong beachgoer with a cottage on Cliff Street, says, “My biggest fear was that someone was going to tear her down. I just would not have been able to live with that.”
The fear eased when the community learned the inn would remain in caring hands. The Tepas family purchased the Breakers with the intention of preserving its role as a gathering place. Scott Townsend, another Higgins Beach resident, brokered the transaction, ensuring the inn stayed in good hands.
For Maggie and her family, the inn is deeply personal. She has been coming to Higgins since childhood—first with her extended family and later with her own children, all of whom grew up visiting every summer.
Their plans for the Breakers are thoughtful and measured. In the short term, updates will focus on light refurbishing—fresh paint, simple improvements—while preserving the charm and feel that guests know so well.
Longer term, the goal is stewardship: maintaining the warmth, accessibility, and sense of belonging that have always defined the inn. Success, Maggie says, will look like continuity. Families returning year after year. Beach friendships that span decades. A place where memories are made and remade. In passing the Breakers from one devoted family to another, Higgins Beach is not losing a landmark—it is watching a legacy carry on.
For more information or booking inquiries, please email Info@TheBreakersInn.com. Top photo by Tradecraft Creative.
Reflections of an Innkeeper
By Rodney Laughton, Breakers Inn Innkeeper for 46 years
The Breakers Inn as it stands today began as my parents’ dream. Kenneth and Dorothy Laughton welcomed every guest who walked through the door and the foundation they placed has led to my career as an innkeeper. Sadly, my mother died unexpectedly in 1968, but my father pressed forward and carried on.
It was the summer of 1970 when Dad offered me a dollar a day, to be the assistant dishwasher. It involved being present for three meals a day, drying the plates and silverware. I was 12 years old, full of energy, and eager to be involved. Seven dollars a week seemed like a fortune. With Reese’s Cups a nickel, Hershey Bars a dime, and comic books fifteen cents, I jumped at the opportunity. This was the beginning of my life’s work. I watched my father do the short order breakfast cooking and mastered that skill one egg at a time. When I was 17, I could cook breakfast solo. That was 50 years ago this year. All along I was learning something deeper: how to care for people. Those years were filled with the clatter of dishes, pots, and pans, and the heat of a commercial kitchen in the summer. Welcoming customers as strangers and seeing them return as friends.
When I turned 21, I became the business manager. I continued the business model until Dad passed in 1998, and I transitioned into a bed, breakfast, and take-out lunch operation. I have so many things to be thankful for … the coworkers I labored with, and my wife Debbie who for the past 17 seasons has worked with me side by side. The Breakers Inn gave me purpose and a profound sense of belonging.
I was an innkeeper for 46 years. As the years passed, I slowly cut back my business operation. The dishes clatter less frequently. The halls are quiet, and I knew in my heart it was time to pass the inn to a new owner. It was not easy to stop what has been a life calling, but I wanted to fully retire, and I wanted a new life for The Breakers Inn.
