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| Book Catapult owners Seth Marko and Jennifer Powell | |
Jennifer Powell and Seth Marko are taking ownership of the West Grove Collective in San Diego's South Park neighborhood and reopening it as the Book Catapult, a general-interest bookstore. The change will be effective October 1, with a soft opening planned for Saturday, October 7, 6-10 p.m., during the Fall South Park Walkabout.
The Book Catapult, which began in 2006 as a book blog written by Marko, is being reinvented in bricks-and-mortar form. The owners noted that the new bookshop "aims to be a community hub of literary activity, promoting a lifelong love of reading through a well-curated selection of books for all ages, book-related gifts, and author event programming, while providing a comfortable forum for literary conversation, the exchanging of ideas, and community engagement."
Powell will run the day-to-day operations as general manager, sidelines buyer and media contact, while Marko will be the primary book buyer. The Book Catapult is retaining the clothing, jewelry and home goods vendors from the West Grove Collective in a boutique space within the store.
Between 2001 and 2015, Marko worked at Octavia Books in New Orleans; Warwick's, La Jolla, Calif.; and the UC San Diego Bookstore. He is currently an Ingram field sales representative. Powell has worked in marketing, advertising and graphic & web design. Most recently, she has been home with her two-year-old, Josephine.