Sandra Gross and Dr. John Hutton, the "husband-and-wife entrepreneurial team that owns Brazee Street Studios, Sleepy Bee Café and Blue Manatee Children's Bookstore is building a new headquarters at 3094 Madison" in Cincinnati, WCPO reported, adding that "the iconic bookstore will relocate to a smaller space about a half block north of its current location."
The $1.2 million project includes first-floor retail space for the bookstore. "We're focusing on our core customer base, which is younger kids," said Hutton, a pediatrician who bought the former Blue Marble bookstore in 2001.
In a letter to friends and customers on the bookshop's website, Hutton wrote: "After 28 amazing years in our beloved literary ecosystem, the time for change has arrived. Faced with the ever-challenging ecology of brick-and-mortar bookselling, we must adapt and evolve. We are grateful to our loyal customers for your positive energies, story time zeal, and support of independent businesses that make communities like Oakley special. Without you, our mission to provide a sanctuary of imagination and togetherness for children and families celebrating the ritual of reading would not be possible. It is this mission that inspired my wife Sandy and me to revive and reinvent the former Blue Marble in 2001, and fueled by the same passion we will do so again, joined by an amazing and dedicated team of booksellers and ManaTeers, many of whom have been with us through changes massive and mini."