Katy Madrid and Becky Wyland are the new owners of the Bookloft, Enterprise, Ore., which includes a café and art gallery, the Wallowa County Chieftain reported. They bought the store from Mary Swanson, who has owned the Bookloft for 32 years and who said of Madrid and Wyland, "I feel really confident about them. It's a good move."
Wyland, who has worked for more than a decade for public health nonprofits, will be full-time in the store. Madrid, who recently retired after working for the federal government for 30 years, most recently as the geospatial area manager for the Wallowa Whitman National Forest, will handle computer operations and help in the store. Madrid likes to read biography, nonfiction and short stories. Wyland prefers history, historical fiction, general fiction, sci-fi and fantasy.
Madrid and Wyland became interested in taking over the store last December. As the Covid-19 pandemic arrived in the U.S., Madrid recalled, "We thought we'd be scared, and that everyone would think we were crazy. But everyone was really supportive. They kept saying 'Everyone drinks coffee and reads books and wants to have a place locally where they can do all that. You'll be fine.' "
Wyland added: "You see the stories where Amazon's profits have really gone through the roof. But you also see the other side of it where more and more people really want to support small local businesses."
The new owners aim to retain the store's character and make a few small changes, including creating more of an online presence for the store.
For her part, Swanson said she aims to start reading the many books she's missed in the past 32 years running the store. "My house is full of books," she said. "I haven't had time to read hardly any of them." She also wants to do volunteer work and garden.