BLOOMINGTON — The Clark and Barlow hardware store, a downtown
fixture for more than 40 years, is for sale but remains open
following the death of its longtime owner last year.

Clark and Barlow and its 111-year-old building
at 503 N. East St. went up for sale last month. The five-story
brick building is listed with Peoria-based Maloof Commercial
at
$450,000; the business and inventory are also for sale.

Joseph J. Sullivan, who also owned the Clark and Barlow store in
Chicago, died in February 2010 at age 79. Sullivan
“loved the hardware business” and appreciated the dedication of his
employees and loyal customers, his family said in a statement
Tuesday. But his death left no alternate family member to run the
Bloomington store.

“We as a family have decided to look for an interested party to
carry on the legacy of the … store with the same passion and love
for the business that our father had possessed,” the family
said.

The Clark and Barlow business dates back to 1894, and Sullivan
took over in 1964. The Bloomington store opened in 1969 and has
held its own against giant hardware chains, in part, by serving a
loyal customer base.

The Chicago store’s building is also for sale and remains open. The family does not
plan to close the Bloomington location prior to any sale of the
building, said Amy Schroeder, Sullivan’s daughter.

“Hopefully, we won’t close the business at all if we get the
right buyer,” she added.

Clark and Barlow distributes more than 100,000 items from over
500 manufacturers worldwide, according to the company’s website.
The Bloomington location has six employees, Schroeder said.