Dick and Caren Lobo have shown yet another reason for booksellers to own their own buildings.
The couple, who started Sarasota News & Books at the site of the former Charlie's News in Sarasota, Fla., have sold the building the store is in--a seven-story, 30,000-sq.-ft. office building--to Bon Eau Enterprises for $6.6 million.
At the same time, two members of the Real Estate Law Firm, Bon Eau's lawyers in the transaction, are buying the assets of Sarasota News & Books and will operate the store through their new entity, One Three Four One, Inc.
The new owners, Derek Filcoff and Thomas Coelho, plan to implement an employee stock ownership and profit-sharing plan "to demonstrate our philosophy of the power of entrepreneurship."
Over the years, Sarasota News & Books has attracted a variety of major authors, including Jimmy Carter, Dave Barry, Molly Ivins, Amy Tan, Sue Monk Kidd and others. Dick Lobo, who had been a broadcaster, became president and CEO of WEDU in Tampa, Florida's largest public television station. He also is on the boards and advisory councils of several arts institutions.
Caren Lobo co-founded the Sarasota Reading Festival, the Palm Literary Society and the Forum, a lecture series. She is also a board member of the Florida Humanities Council.
The Local Report
According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the Lobos bought the building for $2.2 million 18 months after they moved in. Caren Lobo told the paper that the couple hadn't planned to sell the business until Filcoff and Coelho approached them.
The store's new owners plan to remodel after Christmas, Coelho told the paper. "The business will still have several niches--gifts, cards, books and the cafe, but we're planning a greatly expanded children's section and a gallery where we can show some of my photos and artwork."
Filcoff said that he had gone to Charlie's News with his father when he was a child. "I love the experience of Sarasota News & Books. Now Thomas and I are enthusiastic and proud to be the owners of this landmark institution and the next generation to represent it."
The couple, who started Sarasota News & Books at the site of the former Charlie's News in Sarasota, Fla., have sold the building the store is in--a seven-story, 30,000-sq.-ft. office building--to Bon Eau Enterprises for $6.6 million.
At the same time, two members of the Real Estate Law Firm, Bon Eau's lawyers in the transaction, are buying the assets of Sarasota News & Books and will operate the store through their new entity, One Three Four One, Inc.
The new owners, Derek Filcoff and Thomas Coelho, plan to implement an employee stock ownership and profit-sharing plan "to demonstrate our philosophy of the power of entrepreneurship."
Over the years, Sarasota News & Books has attracted a variety of major authors, including Jimmy Carter, Dave Barry, Molly Ivins, Amy Tan, Sue Monk Kidd and others. Dick Lobo, who had been a broadcaster, became president and CEO of WEDU in Tampa, Florida's largest public television station. He also is on the boards and advisory councils of several arts institutions.
Caren Lobo co-founded the Sarasota Reading Festival, the Palm Literary Society and the Forum, a lecture series. She is also a board member of the Florida Humanities Council.
The Local Report
According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the Lobos bought the building for $2.2 million 18 months after they moved in. Caren Lobo told the paper that the couple hadn't planned to sell the business until Filcoff and Coelho approached them.
The store's new owners plan to remodel after Christmas, Coelho told the paper. "The business will still have several niches--gifts, cards, books and the cafe, but we're planning a greatly expanded children's section and a gallery where we can show some of my photos and artwork."
Filcoff said that he had gone to Charlie's News with his father when he was a child. "I love the experience of Sarasota News & Books. Now Thomas and I are enthusiastic and proud to be the owners of this landmark institution and the next generation to represent it."