A landmark home and business is looking for a buyer

LEWISTON – When Jan Barrett was in high school back in the ’60s, she used to drive by the Wellehan house on Ware Street, dreaming of the day she would own it.

That day came seven years ago when she and her husband, Mike, bought the place and opened the Ware Street Inn.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, I actually bought it,'” she said.

Since then she and Mike have poured thousands of hours and thousands of dollars into the landmark home that sits just across from the Bates College campus. Designed by Alonzo Garcelon and inhabited by generations of the Wellehan shoe family, it’s now on the market again.

“Yes, it’s for sale,” said Barrett, chuckling about her motivation. “I’m 59, and I’m tired.”

As much as she’s loved running the bed and breakfast, it’s a round-the-clock job – one she never feels she can entirely escape, even when she’s on vacation in the Caribbean.

“It’s like having a child,” she said. “You never really get away from it.”

But the work has been a labor of love. Together the Barretts have completely remodeled the 1940 house and grounds, creating a gracious inn with six guest rooms. The business has been honored by trade associations as one of the top 15 B&Bs in the country near a college and is on the 2006 Book of Lists for serving the “Best Breakfast in New England.” The inn has about a 70 percent occupancy rate, well above the 50 percent norm for B&Bs, said Barrett.

An ad touting the inn is scheduled to appear in the November issue of Downeast magazine, enticing prospective buyers with an “all-for-under-$1-million” price tag. Barrett said she expects a new owner will likely come from New York or Boston, where there are plenty of people with money “who want to get away from the rat race.”

“I’m really proud of what we’ve turned it into,” said Barrett. “I hope whoever buys it will keep the same atmosphere. I think of it as an asset to the community, and I hope it will remain that way.”

Although Barrett is selling her home, she has no intention of leaving the area. A native of Auburn, she has been a strong backer of the community, volunteering with groups ranging from the Chamber and Rotary Club to Congressman Mike Michaud’s Small Business Advisory Team and the local chapter of the Red Hat Society.

“I’m definitely staying involved with the community,” she said. “I love L-A – that’s where I’ll be living.

“I’d love to be at Island Point overlooking the falls,” she said of Travis Soule’s condo project.

She also hopes to spend some time crafting a cookbook sprinkled with anecdotes from her full life and popular kitchen. A sprightly woman, Barrett loves to bring a little whimsy into everything she does.

She’s especially fond of connecting the inn with children of her neighborhood. She admits to going a little over the top every Halloween with decorations, and hangs Easter eggs from the inn sign for all the kids who get off the bus just before spring vacation. (Unfortunately, someone swiped the gold leaf, 6-foot-by-6-foot sign over the weekend, a $750 heist that Barrett hopes will be solved soon.)

It’s her way of impressing the next generation, just as she was impressed as a child.

“I want the kids to remember the inn on the corner when they grow up, and how cool it was.”