Hob Knob, the boutique luxury hotel located on Edgartown’s Upper Main Street, has been placed on the market for sale.
“It’s with mixed emotion but we’ve thought about it for a long time, and we believe the market is strong and our timing is good,” inn owner Maggie White told the Gazette Tuesday evening. “So we’re hopeful. And it’s always fun to embark on new endeavors.
The inn will be sold along with two fully-furnished guest houses located nearby. Ms. White said the sale price is not being disclosed. Boston Realty Advisors has been exclusively retained to solicit offers.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Ms. White moved to the Island from Colorado in 1995 and purchased the circa-1900 Gothic Revival building, previously known as the Governor Bradford Inn, for $1.6 million. John F. Kennedy is said to have stayed at the property in 1947.
After purchase, Ms. White gave the inn a $500,000 renovation and reopened it as the Hob Knob. The name comes from the initials of Ms. White’s grandmother, Helen Osborne Bruch, and her grandmother’s Ohio estate, located on a hill known as the Knob. The inn underwent another million-dollar renovation in 2007.
The 17-room hotel has a wraparound porch and a spa and is eco-friendly, with organic cleaning products and composting and recycling programs. In the afternoon, guests receive complementary tea and the inn’s famous scones.
Ms. White became a business leader in Edgartown, including active involvement with the Edgartown Board of Trade. She also started Hob Knob Realty and Hob Knob Construction companies, both of which she will continue to operate.
In 2008, Ms. White told the Gazette about moving to the Island from Colorado and her theory of 20-20-20, living life in 20 year segments. “I had spent my first 18 years in Cleveland," she said. "I was ready for the next investment and it took me to the Vineyard. You can exchange mountains for ocean, you know, and that’s what I did.”
When she arrived on the Island, she brought with her 14 cows that she eventually donated to the Farm Institute. The Hob Knob's logo is a cow.
About 20 years after purchasing the Hob Knob, Ms. White said it is time to move on, but not time to leave the Vineyard. “It’s time to transition Hob Knob to the next generation of ownership,” she said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to focusing more time on our other businesses; Hob Knob Construction and Hob Knob realty, while continuing to contribute to this wonderful community.”
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