Alison Reid and John Evans, owners of Diesel bookstores, are putting their Brentwood store, in Los Angeles, Calif., up for sale. Last year, they put their other store, in San Diego, up for sale. Since 1989, Reid and Evans have opened five bookstores, all in California. (In 2017, they sold the Oakland store to longtime manager Brad Johnson; it's now called East Bay Booksellers.)
In an e-mail announcement, Reid and Evans noted that they have spent "the past 34 years establishing and nurturing our bookstores. It has been deeply satisfying for the two of us to build a business together and to watch it take off." Beginning with the first store, "We wanted it to be fun, smart, helpful, engaging, accessible to everyone, discerning, and delightful. At the time, we were different than many other stores in the area--we were a bit more playful; our selection was a bit deeper than other general bookstores our size; and we were intensely reader-focused, providing excellent customer service, because we cared.
"We still do--about books, about people, about culture, and about our society. We brought our distinct, and distinctive, styles, knowledge, and sensibilities to it all. And people liked it. We still do all of that, and still have wonderful booksellers who believe in it....
"We've decided it is time to step back from bookselling and hopefully find a new engaged bookseller to keep the spirit alive, and the tradition going. We are excited to pass on our beautiful bookstore in Brentwood and put it in the hands of someone who will carry the store, and whose energy and vision will take it beyond what we have created. We are fortunate to have a knowledgeable, dedicated staff that have diverse reading interests, specialties, sensibilities, and histories....
"We hope to find new owners who will respect what we've built and carry on these valuable relationships--inevitably in their own way."
Interested people can contact Reid and Evans via e-mail.