Another piece of Adamsville history is changing hands.

The Madden and Wordell families, who have owned the popular Barn Restaurant for 16 years, have sold the landmark restaurant. They don’t know what the new owners’ plans are, but wrote in an open letter to customers this weekend that they will be out by the last day of 2024.

When they purchased the Barn in 2008, the families’ plan was to run the restaurant while rebuilding Manchesters Restaurant, which was lost to a fire in March 2002. That never came to pass and “although that was a tough reality, we have been faced with an even bigger decision when we were approached to sell The Barn a couple months ago."

"We have wrestled with this decision, thinking about all the friends we’ve made, thinking about those of you that we know on a first name basis, knowing you come from near and far to be served by us, worrying about what will happen to our staff, and so many other factors." 

But "after thinking long and hard we have decided selling is in the best interest of our families. We all knew this day would eventually come but that hasn’t made it any easier!"

The identity of the buyers is not yet known, and the sale had not been recorded at Little Compton Town Hall as of Tuesday morning — the families purchased the property on Dec. 24, 2008, for $640,000.

The sale brings the number of Adamsville landmarks to change hands in the past 18 months to at least three.

Early last year, Gray's Daily Grind was sold to a southeastern Massachusetts couple, who closed the long-running corn meal operation there that had supplied jonnycake meal to Sakonnet residents for generations.

And last Spring, Simmons Cafe and Marketplace also sold, to a Westport resident.