The owners of downtown Wilmington landmark the Graystone Inn bought a nearby historic lodging, Front Street Inn, a few months ago.

Jamie Alfalla and her husband, Ace, are majority partners in the group that now owns both inns. They bought Front Street Inn, including the 12-room inn and a cottage, for more than $2.2 million from the Salinetti family, which had owned and operated the bed-and-breakfast for two decades.

Front Street Inn,  215 S. Front St., was built around 1924 as the Salvation Army Church.

“We were looking for properties that could lend themselves as partner or sister properties to the Graystone Inn, and the Front Street Inn is also an historic property, very eclectic and charming,” Jamie Alfalla said. “It's a beautiful location right on Front Street. 

“One of the rooms has a patio balcony that you can actually see the river from. So we just fell in love with it when we saw it. We also had so much demand for rooms at the Graystone that we felt that it would really benefit us to have a secondary property.”

The group plans to make some cosmetic changes at Front Street Inn, including “a beautiful courtyard in the back to accent and complement what the Front Street Inn already has going on,” Alfalla said. Plans also include restoring an historic wall, pending the necessary government approvals, and booking more weddings.

Hansen Matthews, partner in Wilmington-based commercial real estate firm Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co., represented the previous owners in the sale of Front Street Inn, and Regina Fisher of the Bristol Group represented them in the sale of the business. Marshall Pickett of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage represented the buyers in the transaction.

“Wilmington and the nearby beaches have evolved into a popular place for destination weddings and the downtown B&B’s are enjoying a steady revenue stream from these wedding parties and the tourists who are attracted to the downtown Wilmington scene,” Matthews said.

The Graystone Inn, which was built around 1905 at 100 S. Third St., closed in October last year for changes, including cleaning the exterior limestone. Alfalla said she and the other owners, who bought the Graystone last year, anticipate a reopening in early spring this year. 

“If you drive past the Graystone now, you probably notice it looks like it’s a different color, and that's because we just gave it the cleaning of a lifetime,” she said. “We had to test five to seven different solutions so that we could properly clean the exterior of the building without doing any damage to it. Our goal is that the building will be around another 100 years.”

The group also has interior changes planned for the Graystone, but those plans would also be contingent upon permits and other approvals. The Front Street Inn is expected to remain open through its cosmetic changes.

Of the landmarks now under her group’s care, Alfalla said,“There's a certain significance and responsibility that you feel – that you have to make sure the building is cared for and that it can continue to live on and have a really unique and awesome legacy.”