LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Laura and Justin Kendall are turning a page in downtown Lafayette, taking over Main Street Books.
The couple initially planned to change the name to Second Flyers, but they told the Journal & Courier Wednesday that the layers involved in transferring a business from one owner to another have priority at the moment.
“Name recognition,” said Laura Kendall, pointing to a sign inside the store proclaiming those three words, “is important. Right now, it’s Main Street Books.”
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Main Street Books, owned by Ted Malone, was previously managed by Malone’s late wife, Tamzin. Tamzin opened the shop in 2015, and now the Kendalls will reign supreme on the central staple.
“Ted, the current owner, talked to me,” Laura said. “He came into my store a few months ago and we talked about a lot of things because, you know, his wife passed away last year. We talked about that and how life has been lately.
“And he mentioned that he was thinking about selling so he could have a little more time to spend with family…”
Laura and Justin approached Malone more seriously about buying Main Street Books, and now the weekend of August 13th is when the contracts are signed.
Reception honoring Main Street Books
At 5 p.m. on August 12, a reception will be held at Main Street Books to say goodbye and honor Ted and Tazmin Malone for the work they have dedicated to downtown for nearly a decade. See the article : The best new books of 2022 so far.
Future plans for Main Street Books aren’t too much different than they are now, according to Laura.
“There hasn’t been a lot of fresh inventory coming in,” Laura said. “So we’re going to try to get some new titles to try to freshen things up a little bit. We think we’re going to have a wider selection of new books because, I think, with the downtown, people would be excited to see some new books and new releases there.
“We’ll still use books, too. But we’ll just have a bigger selection of new books there. And as well as fun giveaways.”
The Kendalls hope that there is at most one day when Main Street Books is closed for a physical and non-physical transfer of power to occur. While the contracts must be signed, the credit card readers and other items must also be changed from the store.
Margaret Christopherson is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email her at mchristopherson@jconline.com and follow her on Twitter @MargaretJC2.
