Carmichael's Bookstore, Louisville, Ky., which marked its 40th anniversary last year, is changing ownership: founders Carol Besse and Michael Boggs are retiring, and the store will now be owned by their daughter, Miranda Blankenship, and their niece, Kelly Estep, Insider Louisville reported.
After meeting in college and working at Barbara's Bookstore in Chicago, Besse and Boggs, who had roots in Kentucky, moved to Louisville and opened Carmichael's in 1978. Through the years, they've witnessed the rise of mall store B. Dalton Bookseller and Waldenbooks, then Borders and Barnes & Noble superstores, then Amazon and e-books. "We've survived," Besse said. " 'Small is beautiful' has been our model."
Small, but Carmichael's has expanded significantly over time. Last year, it added 750 square feet to its general store at 1295 Bardstown Road, and in 2014, it opened a children's bookstore, Carmichael's Kids, at 1313 Bardstown Road. It also has a general store at 2720 Frankfort Ave., which it opened in 1999.
The new owners want to keep Carmichael's "true" to Besse and Boggs's vision, "but move into the 21st century on some level," Blankenship said. "There will be some adaptations we need to do to keep pushing forward, but we want to keep the heart and trueness of what they started."
Estep started working at the store as "a kid," dusting shelves, and then officially began at age 14. On the other hand, Blankenship was determined not to work in her parents' store. "I didn't want much to do with it, honestly," she told Insider Louisville. "So I didn't start working until I got back from college in 2004. So I was probably 21."
Besse and Boggs will continue to involved in some ways. "I'm sure we'll spend some time haunting the shelves," Boggs said. "I think retirement won't be playing golf. We're not golfers. We'll go in and say, 'Can I work a night shift?' "