Inn at the Mill, James at the Mill Listed for $6.98M

The Inn at the Mill and its companion restaurant, James at the Mill, are on the market for $6.98 million.

The 4.7-acre property in Johnson, which includes the historic Johnson Mill, is represented by Chris Taylor of Red Tree Real Estate Group, the commercial real estate arm of Rogers mergers and acquisitions firm Allan Taylor & Company.

Celebrity chef and owner Miles James said it was a tough decision to list the property — a 46-room inn and adjoining 9,890-SF restaurant — but he’s ready to embrace the entrepreneurial side of the hospitality business, which means creating a new company, Miles James Hospitality, new partnerships, and opening new eateries.

“I like to design, build, own and operate,” he said. “Developing menus and flavor profiles, that’s what makes me happy.”

James opens MJ Pizzeria in Springdale in July, and plans to open another one in Joplin, Missouri, next year. He also plans to open a bistro in or near Rogers at some point in the near future, and is currently looking for a great deal on a boutique hotel and restaurant in Miami, Florida, where he has owned a condo on Biscayne Bay for 20 years.

In 2012, James opened 28 Springs in downtown Siloam Springs, and in 2003, he was part of a group that launched Ella’s at the Inn at Carnall Hall on the University of Arkansas campus. James is no longer involved with Ella’s.

James said he dearly loves the mill, but selling it will give he and his wife Courtney the freedom they need to do business in what has become a fluid restaurant scene in Northwest Arkansas — and in cosmopolitan Miami.

“We just decided it was time to do something else,” he said. “This was about giving us the ability to grow as a company.”

Both the inn and the restaurant will remain open, and if the property doesn’t sell, James will continue to operate the business.

James said he would entertain an offer from a buyer who wants to purchase the property and retain him as a consultant, or even lease back the restaurant. However, if a buyer wants to purchase the property outright and go in their own direction, then he’s fine with that, too.

“We’re looking for someone who is going to be the next person to love it,” James said.

While James is the public face of the mill property, its rebirth as an inn and restaurant is credited to James’ father-in-law, architect James Lambeth.

Washington County real estate records show that Lambeth Inc. purchased the property for $135,000 in 1990, when the mill, reconstructed in 1865, was in disrepair.

Lambeth designed the inn, built in 1991 around the historic structure, and in 1994, in partnership with James, added the restaurant.

Since that time, James has been nominated for a James Beard award, has been recognized by Wine Spectator magazine, and has established himself as the dean of Northwest Arkansas chefs.

An Arkansan, James honed his skills at the New England Culinary Institute in Montpellier, Vermont, as well as in the gastronomic capitals of Paris, Manhattan, and Florence, Italy.

Looking back at his career at James at the Mill, all James can do is smile.

“Twenty years in a restaurant is a hell of a run,” he said.