… from the bank, became a realtor and was selling a building. The Wells Building became the cornerstone of the Bruckheimer holdings in the area. Not long after, Linda spied another historic building in downtown Bloomfield. A window fell out of the frame onto the street below, the walls were crumbling and the city condemned it. Linda bought that building and fixed it up and opened her first two businesses in Bloomfield. Nettie Jarvis Antiques and Olde Sugar Valley Country Store were just the beginning.
Over the next several years, every time a building or a house seemed to be beyond repair and looked like it might need to be torn down, Linda and her film producer husband, Jerry, rescued it. They expanded their own home, Walnut Groves Farm from one house to over 2000 acres. They were founding members of Bloomfield Community of Tomorrow. In 2019, the Bruckheimers expanded their Bloomfield businesses to include the Double Dip Ice Cream Parlor and Ernie’s Tavern.
Linda is a two time recipient of the Ida Lee Willis Memorial Foundation Historic Preservation Award for her work protecting, preserving, and rehabilitating historic buildings, landscapes, cultural resources, and archaeological sites in Kentucky. The Linda and Jerry Bruckheimer Preservation Fund for Kentucky supports the preservation of historic buildings, communities, and landscapes in the state of Kentucky. The Bruckheimers have provided support to the Stephen Foster Drama Association, the Stephen Foster Music Club, the Kentucky Quilt Project, the Kentucky Lands Trust, and My Old Kentucky Home to name but a few.
The Bruckheimers are Bloomfield. Linda Bruckheimer moved to Kentucky at 6 months old, the daughter of a 4th-generation Kentuckian, and was raised in Louisville. Linda and Jerry Bruckheimer love this community and continue helping it grow year after year.
