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Wood • Tile • Carpet
Luxury Vinyl • Custom Rugs
www.flemingcarpet.com
Showroom Hours:
Mon.-Fri. 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Sat. 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
1310 Kennestone Circle
Marietta, GA 30066 • 770-420-3009
A NEW ERA
Amaden said she began thinking about selling the inn in
summer 2019, when she realized she was missing so
much time with her twin boys at home. They are 10 years
old now, Walter and Peter, and it really hit her during the
that holiday season after she spent much of her time
managing holiday parties at the inn while having to miss
her own family’s holiday gatherings.
“When I had kids, I knew the overnight stays were
going to be too much so I stopped the bed and breakfast
operation. But then I was still finding myself having to
work odd hours that didn’t line up with theirs, and I felt
like I was missing too much. The people who bought
this, they’re a dream couple. They have so much experience
in weddings and when they approached me about
buying it, I just knew it was time and that the stars had
aligned,” Amaden said.
Heilman is the sole
owner, but said her husband,
Jim, helped her a lot with the
transition and will continue
to be a right-hand man of
sorts for her as the new
owner.
“We were having up to
about 70 weddings a year at
Barnsley and things were
going great, but I always
thought about one day
owning my own venue and
doing it myself,” Heilman
Kathy Hellman
said. “My husband found the inn was for sale on a
confidential business website we had signed up for and
we took a look at it and, the minute I stepped in, it felt
like home. I fell in love. It’s charming, it’s historic, it has a
great reputation, and the staff is so loved and they have
such a great history behind them. Coming from Barnsley,
which is bigger because it is a resort, I loved that it
was entrenched in history and that this did, too.”
Heilman said that she doesn’t plan to change much
about the inn, but she does hope to focus more on
corporate events, such as dinners, parties and meetings.
“Obviously, it’s a crazy time right now and we’re
navigating some strange things with the virus, but we are
keeping the safety and well-being of everyone in mind,”
Heilman said. “It just feels like home and I can’t wait to
meet everyone and everything has been very well-cared
for — we’re just so excited.”
12 COBB LIFE | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
/www.flemingcarpet.com