At 85 years old, Betty Salisbury says she’s finally ready to retire and close Iris & Ivy, the boutique she’s operated for decades.
“I started with $50 and a booth at the Country Lace craft mall,” she said of her initial venture with a few other ladies. “We were just looking for something to do. Then somebody from the craft mall told me they were redoing a house (where Incredibly Delicious is now located). Every room had a business in it.”
Salisbury relocated Iris & Ivy to a room inside the historic house at 925 S. Seventh St., and even when Patrick Groth purchased the property to turn it into Incredibly Delicious, she remained a tenant until 2000.
“When he bought the building, I was still there for years out in the carriage house,” Salisbury said. “Then I bought the building across the street.”
For the past 25 years, Iris & Ivy has operated out of 926 S. Seventh St., but Salisbury said she decided it was finally time to retire.
“I’m 85 years old, and I need a life,” she said. “I’m doing this all by myself, and it’s killing me.”
In January, Salisbury listed the 2,903-square-foot property for an asking price of $219,000 with Glen Garrison of Garrison Group Keller Williams. The Cranmer-Cook House, as it is known, was built in 1877 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is relatively unaltered and is one of a few intact examples of the simple hipped roof Italianate-style buildings remaining in Springfield.
Salisbury told SBJ she doesn’t know who the buyer is and an exact closing date has not been scheduled.
“I took in $5,000 worth of spring inventory, and within two hours the realtor told me there was an offer,” she said.
Garrison said the buyer is a limited liability company, but his understanding is that the new owner intends to occupy the property and invest a significant amount of money in renovations.
Salisbury said she plans to sell everything downstairs at 50% off and items located upstairs will be sold at an additional 25% off.
“Whenever I get out of there, that’s the closing date,” she said. “The fixtures and everything has to go.”
