Photo by Erin O’Neill Mary Rongyos, left, from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, holds Bear and her friend Cherryl Huffenberger, right, from Springfield, Ohio, pays attention to Cooper, longtime fixtures at the House on Harmar Hill in Marietta.

The House on Harmar Hill, a bed and breakfast at 300 Bellevue St., overlooking the city and the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers, was recently purchased by Dr. Landon Edwards and his wife, Emilee. The price tag was $420,000 and the new owners do not have plans to continue the B&B.

“I have been in communication with the new owners and it will be turned back into a private residence again,” said Judy Grize, who opened the business in 2000 with her late husband, Doug, who passed away in May 2016.

Grize is on a mission trip in Guatemala and said that it is time to downsize and move on, though it will be a challenge. She plans to move to a condo in Michigan to be closer to family and go from nearly 6,000 square feet to 1,600 square feet.

“The B&B will have its last guests on June 24; some of my antique pieces will stay with the house and what I don’t take will be auctioned off at Randy Clark’s,” Grize said.

Photo by Erin O’Neill Cecilia Armstrong, left, and Faith Ritchie, right, longtime staff members of the House on Harmar Hill, clean up after breakfast on Wednesday.

The Edwards family, which includes a 6-year-old and a baby on the way, wanted to move into a larger home than their current one on Fifth Street, said Landon Edwards. They also negotiated purchasing some of the furniture, as Emilee is an interior designer and has a background in historic preservation.

“We are outgrowing the space and my wife is kind of obsessed with Realtor.com. It became a ritual that she checked it everyday,” Landon said. “When this property came up, we wanted to see it and when we saw it, it was just so beautiful.”

The closing of the business is bittersweet for the staff and neighbors who have come to think of Grize as family.

Melissa Parlin, her husband and children have lived across the street at 100 High St. for the past 10 years. She said that Judy has looked after her children and helped out while Parlin was delivering two of her four children.

“It is going to be a big loss for us because she is like family. She has watched my children grow up and they are very attached to her,” Parlin said. “At the same time, we are excited for this next phase in life for her. She has given so many contributions to the community and has always been so giving and giving and giving … it’s time for her to give to herself.”

Photo by Erin O’Neill A welcome sign on the door will soon be removed as the House on Harmar Hill closes its doors to guests next week.

Parlin said it has been fun to meet all the people who have visited the B&B over the years and she will miss that but is sure that the new owners will contribute positively to the neighborhood.

Edwards said that, in the distant future when their children are older, he and his wife may possibly consider revisiting the B&B idea.

Longtime staff member Cecilia Armstrong has been with the Grizes for 14 years. She and Faith Ritchie were tending to visitors from different parts of the state on Wednesday but took time to chat about how much they will miss the place.

“I’m very sad because we are very close to Judy,” Armstrong said. “In the summertime we have guests just about every day and it has been so wonderful to meet people from all over the world.”

Armstrong said the new owners plan to take ownership in mid-July. As for her future, Armstrong said she is looking for employment in the home nursing care field. Ritchie, who lives next door, will continue to care for other people’s homes in the area.

The loss of the bed and breakfast will be a big one for tourism in the city as well, according to Shannon Folts, visitor experience director for the Marietta-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“It is certainly sad to lose the House on Harmar Hill. People know it, people know Judy and her scones,” Folts said. “There was one other B&B in the area, the Cottage on Washington Street, but we haven’t been able to contact Charlotte Furbee, the owner, in some time. So this definitely opens up a need. We always have people come in looking to stay at a B&B.”

Two guests of the home were packing up Wednesday to go home after having stayed for two nights. Longtime friends Mary Rongyos, from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and Cherryl Huffenberger, from Springfield, Ohio, make plans once a year to meet up and do interesting things. This year they chose Marietta and the House on Harmar Hill.

“A lot of people sure seem to know this home and this dog,” Rongyos said, referring to Judy’s dog, Cooper, a black lab who has been a fixture of the house. “I’m glad we got here when we did because we would have come back. The staff pampers you, the food is outstanding and we’ve just been treated so well. The town as well, everyone is so friendly.”

Huffenberger said the pair has stayed in bed and breakfasts before but the experiences didn’t compare to the hospitality, the beautiful Victorian fixtures and the magnificent view from atop Harmar Hill.

“This is well beyond our expectations. The house is more beautiful than the pictures we saw so we decided to spoil ourselves,” she said.

The new owners will no doubt enjoy the peace and quiet that the guests experience and the sense of community.

“We were sitting on the porch last night and people just walked by and said ‘hello,'” Rongyos said. “In my area that doesn’t happen.”

Being a part of that cozy community feeling is what Grize said she will miss the most.

“I will definitely miss all the wonderful people we met, some of whom became good friends,” she said. “My years as an innkeeper were sometimes overwhelming, but extremely fun.”