Eat, Pray, Love, Buy, Sell: Writer Elizabeth Gilbert Puts Frenchtown's Two Buttons on Market

Bestselling writer and celebrated seeker Elizabeth Gilbertand husband Jose Nunes are unburdening themselves oftheir beloved East Asian decorative imports store in Frenchtown, Two Buttons.The couple opened the store, a briefwalk from the main drag in Frenchtown, to showcase exotic treasures from their travels and beyond -- Buddha statuary, embellished fabrics, painted mirrors, carved wooden furniture, beaded jewelry and the like -- but MaryAlice Heimerl, who has the listing, says they travel too extensively to be hands-on with the business. "They're all about starting a new chapter in their lives," she says.But theyare not leaving Frenchtown, the quaint Delaware River villagewhere they settled after Gilbert's mammoth success with her memoir "Eat Pray Love," says Heimerl, ofColdwell Banker Hearthside in Frenchtown. The couplemoved to a homein the heart of the villagelast year aftersellingtheirItalianate Victorian homeon a hill overlooking Frenchtown for $860,000, according to Zillow.com. (They purchased it in 2008 for $638,000.)"This is all about downsizing to a smaller place," Gilbertsaid at the time,"and about moving to a fresh space to start fresh on a new book." She had just released her historical novel"The Signature of All Things."Her new self-help book, "Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear," comes out in September.Two Buttons and thenearly two-acre commercial property onwhich it is housedis on the market for$1.65 million. Two Buttons, with its inventory and client list, is for sale separately for$549,900, but if the property buyer isn't interested in Two Buttons, the couple plans toliquidate the business, Heimerl says.The16,000-square-foot building has parking for 78 cars. In addition to Two Buttons, the building has other tenants, including the popular Lovin' Ovencafe, and the warehouse-type building would allow the owner to reconfigure as desired. The building includes seven sewer hook-ups,a state-of-the-art security system, a gym for employees and is handicapped accessible.