The Village Bookstore, Pleasantville, N.Y., is beginning "the next phase in its long history" as new owner Jennifer Kohn "looks to keep the beloved store thriving," the Examiner reported. Roy Solomon and Yvonne vanCort, who have owned the 46-year-old bookshop since 2003, "passed the torch" to Kohn this month.
"I started feeling more and more like I wasn't fully staying on top of everything, and the last thing I wanted to do was run this store into the ground," vanCort said. "We love this store, we love being in the community and we're going to miss it enormously, but I think for the store and the community it's way better to have a young, energetic, fresh face here.... I love bookstores. Bookstores are not like any other business. It really is a place where people come to learn. It's not just buying and selling stuff, it's a totally different transaction in nature."
Kohn, who had expressed interest in buying the store for more than two years, "has an extensive background in business, branding, communications and public relations and hopes to elevate the Village Bookstore's presence, something Solomon and vanCort believe she can do," the Examiner wrote.
"We've gotten the store to a place where it's worth spreading the word and marketing to a much broader world, and we don't have the knowledge, skills, energy and expertise," vanCort said. "Jen has it and we're very excited."
Kohn wants to preserve the elements of the store that people love while increasing social media presence, programming and handselling. "Bookstores are all about community, discovery, happiness and joy and I think everything that we do will be under one of those buckets," she said. "People like being in a bookstore because it's a fun and happy environment and we want to keep that. The store really is the town store and it's our store collectively."
VanCort noted that she is "going to miss the daily contact with the wonderful people. This has been our social life for 15 years."