The Iris Garden Grays
Family Business that Rocks ~story and photos by Evan Markley
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Tanner and Josie Gray at the Iris Garden Complex.
mack dab” in the heart of Nashville lies a not so hidden gem. Matt and Amy Gray are the proprietors of two businesses: Iris Garden Cottages & Suites, and the Brown County Rock Shop. Both are located next to each other on North Van Buren Street, in the middle of Nashville’s shopping district. Along with their offspring, Josie and Tanner Gray, Matt and Amy specialize in creating memorable experiences for guests visiting our one-of-akind town.
16 Our Brown County • July/August 2022
Matt and Josie run the lodging accommodations, and Amy and Tanner run the rock shop. This is true for the most part, but everyone in the family is interchangeable. Together, with side-by-side encouragement, they go above and beyond for their guests. After owning and operating several art galleries across the country, Matt and Amy Gray moved to Brown County with their kids in 2003. That is when they bought the complex and opened the Iris Garden Art Gallery. They also offered lodging on their property. As Nashville changed over the years, so did the Gray’s business. In 2007, they opened Copperhead Creek Gem Mine, and in 2008, they opened the Brown County Rock Shop to accompany it. After managing art for more than a decade, the Gray’s closed down the gallery in 2016. They then transitioned the gallery into lodging and an office space for Iris Garden Cottages & Suites. While Matt and Amy are still heavily involved in the businesses, Josie and Tanner are “paving the way” towards their parents’ retirement. The Grays have been in business here for almost twenty years and hope to see the legacy potentially last another twenty.
