“We were not actively pursuing the property,” Ohlinger said, “but were approached last year by a broker offering the property for sale.”

The master plan identifies the site for future development, he said. “When the opportunity comes, you have to take it. In five years or so, it may not be available, so you have to be flexible.”

Sally Bell’s Kitchen was established in 1924 by Sarah “Sallie” Cabell Jones and Elizabeth Lee Milton.

The business was first christened Sarah Lee Kitchen, drawing from parts of the owners’ names, but the business was renamed in 1959 after a dispute with the owners of Chicago-based Kitchens of Sara Lee.

Milton left the business in 1929, with Jones buying her out to become the sole owner. Jones sold the shop to her nephew, Hunter Jones, and his wife, Marcyne, in the late 1960s, and the business has stayed in the Jones family since.

The 90-year-old business is known in Richmond and beyond for its homemade cupcakes, potato salad, deviled eggs, cheese wafers, country ham sandwiches and other menu items.