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| Raven Book Store owners: (front, l.-r.) Nikita Imafidon, Mary Wahlmeier Bracciano, Jack Hawthorn, Danny Caine, (back row) Kelly Barth, Hannah Reidell, Chris Luxem, Sarah Young. (photo: Adam Smith) | |
A group of seven booksellers at Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kan., has purchased half of the store from Danny Caine, who had been sole owner since 2017. Caine has loaned the employees the money for the shares, which will be repaid out of future profits.
The booksellers are Kelly Barth, Mary Wahlmeier Bracciano, Jack Hawthorn, Nikita Imafidon, Chris Luxem, Hannah Reidell and Sarah Young, who have a combined 70 years of experience at Raven. They now own exactly 49% of the store.
The arrangement allows those booksellers to make a "literal investment in the business" and was modeled after a similar arrangement with a group of employees at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Mass., who purchased half of the bookstore from owners David Sandberg and Dina Mardell in 2018.
Caine reported that the plan has been in the works since spring of 2021, but the idea has been "in my head ever since I saw Porter Square booksellers buy half their store." In early May 2021 he reached out to Sandberg at Porter Square to learn as much as he could about employee ownership. Sandberg was "generous with his time and amazingly helpful," and the discussions made Caine think employee ownership could work at Raven, too.
He started to discuss the idea informally with employees who he thought might be interested, and they "slowly arrived at a consensus." Over the summer he had the store's attorney and accountant start the complicated transition process.
"I never thought I'd be a business owner," said Mary Wahlmeier Bracciano, "but it feels so good to share that title with many of my closest friends. Even more so, as my sense of ownership in the store has grown over the last few years, it's now put down roots that will support my passion for years to come."
Kelly Barth, bookseller at Raven for 24 years, said: "After all the splinters, paper cuts, and joys of the Raven since 1997--both large and small--it feels so satisfying to know that a part of it all belongs to me."
"After 20 years working at the Raven, I am pleased and proud to be a part of this great Lawrence tradition as an owner," said Sarah Young, who celebrated her 20th anniversary at the store this month. "It is wonderful to be working with such talented and enthusiastic people who all share a love for this beautiful store."
Jack Hawthorn said: "It's really beautiful to get to be a part of all of the growth happening at the Raven and to inherit so much history. We've been given an excellent opportunity to carry on and expand that legacy together."
"Being a part of the Raven has always felt like working with a community, and now to have a part of the business excites me for the future of bookselling," said Nikita Imafidon. "It feels great to be a part of a store that has the heart of the sellers who run it and the community behind it, triumphs, flaws, and all, together at the helm."
"Without the booksellers, there is no Raven," said Caine. "Now the ownership structure of the store better reflects that reality."