At year's end, Pete Mulvihill and Kevin Ryan of Green Apple Books in San Francisco, Calif., will buy out the share of their co-owner, Kevin Hunsanger.
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| Green Apple's Kevin Ryan, Pete Mulvihill and Kevin Hunsanger | |
While Hunsanger, Ryan and Mulvihill completed a 10-year buy-out of the store's founder in 2008, they have effectively been running the store since 2000. For most of his 27-year career at Green Apple, Hunsanger has primarily been responsible for the store's used and rare operations.
Hunsanger, whose official last day at the store is December 31, said that he is departing Green Apple to help found the San Francisco Cultural City Museum, which he expects to open sometime next year. The museum's mission, Hunsanger explained, will be to preserve the cultural relics and artifacts of a city that has changed immensely over the last 30 years, to "try to protect the things that have made San Francisco so special."
Hunsanger added that the most difficult thing about the decision was choosing to leave "something that's been so rewarding in so many ways," and called Green Apple a "very special, magical place." He hoped that his departure would open the way for a "younger group of booksellers" to come in and keep the store fresh for years to come.
Mulvihill reported that he and Ryan have been promoting internally, and are looking to bring in new people from the Bay Area. Noting that the store remains "healthy and viable," Mulvihill said that he's not sure what changes they might make, but they do plan to use the transition as an opportunity to "reevaluate and examine everything we do." He added that he, Ryan and Hunsanger have been reflecting a lot lately on the fun and challenging moments in their 25 years of being in business together.