The Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, Vt., which was put up for sale by co-owners Liza Bernard and Penny McConnel last year, has new owners. Emma Nichols, who has served as buyer and manager of Elliott Bay Book Company, and Sam Kaas, author events manager at Third Place Books, are moving from Seattle in late May to take over the business. Former American Booksellers Association CEO Oren Teicher is an investing partner in the venture and will serve as an adviser.
"Penny and I are thrilled to have found energetic and experienced booksellers to shepherd the Norwich Bookstore into the future," Bernard said. "Like all good stories, we look forward to the next chapter."
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| Emma Nichols and Sam Kaas | |
Founded by Bernard and McConnel in 1994, the Norwich Bookstore reopened for browsing last Saturday, on Independent Bookstore Day, after a year of operating behind closed doors. The Valley News wrote that "although the bookstore has been serving its loyal customers via online ordering and curbside pickup, the only time it has been open to in-store browsing in the past year was a brief October-to-Thanksgiving window 'until the (Covid-19) numbers got bad and we couldn't stay open,' Bernard said."
She added that "what's really sustained us is the fact that people have been turning to us and the kind words and appreciation she regularly hears from customers," adding: "I've worked hard all my life, but I've never worked as hard as I have the past year."
With nearly 20 years of combined bookselling experience, Nichols and Kaas have long planned to be bookstore owners. Kaas started his career at Village Books in Bellingham, Wash., and Nichols worked for WORD, helping to open the store's Jersey City, N.J., location and eventually serving as staff manager, before moving to Seattle. Kaas is a member of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association's board of directors. Nichols serves on Binc's finance committee and is the co-host of the Drunk Booksellers podcast. The couple met at Winter Institute 11 in Denver, in 2016.
"When Emma and I first visited the Upper Valley, it immediately felt like home," Kaas said. "It's a rare place that would have that effect, but the bookstore and the community that supports it are something special. We're both thrilled and humbled to have the opportunity to be stewards of the Norwich Bookstore for many years to come."
Teicher said that the new owners "embody the very best in a new generation of indie bookstore owners: entrepreneurial, passionate, experienced, and highly knowledgeable. With folks like Emma and Sam owning bookstores, I have every confidence in the long term viability and success of the indie bookstore channel."
Bernard and McConnel will work with the new owners during a transition period in June, after which both have new adventures in the works and lots more time to read.