Becky Jorgensen, the longtime owner of used bookstore Becky's Bookshelf in Logan, Utah, has sold the store to loyal customer Jeff Ballard for $1, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. Ballard took over the store in November and has renamed it Grandpa's Bookshelf.
After owning and operating the bookstore for more than 20 years, last September Jorgensen decided to retire from bookselling and close the store. She was struggling with chronic health issues, and the store was facing an impending rent increase. Although a customer named Alyssa Stephenson launched a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $2,000 for the store, Becky's Bookshelf was going to close.
In October, Ballard visited the store to stock up on books for one last time. While talking to Jorgensen, he casually said that "if it wasn't for the money, I would jump on this place in a flash." By that point, Jorgensen had told her husband she'd rather give away the store than close it down, and after a series of Facebook messages she and Ballard reached an agreement.
Ballard, a longtime elementary school teacher who recently retired, purchased the store for the upfront cost of $1 and will give a portion of the store's monthly profits to Jorgensen for the foreseeable future.
"She talked about how the rent was going up and how it was just not possible to make a living off of this store,” Ballard told the Tribune. "And I thought, "Well, I don't need to make a living. As long as it breaks even and I'm having fun, I'll be happy with it."