Melody and Ken Kurson are the new owners of the Book House in Millburn, N.J. TAPinto Millburn/Short Hills reported that when previous owner Nadege Nicoll "announced in June that she had to close her beloved independent bookshop, Millburn residents were upset to lose the unique establishment because it was much more than a bookstore. Many of her customers posted on her Facebook page about how sorry they were."
Last week, Nicoll told TAPinto the bookshop will be reopening soon, adding: "New owners Melody and Ken Kurson are working hard at getting ready to welcome you back. They will make further announcements with a specific opening date. As of now, they want you all to know that they are shooting for opening around Labor Day. Please follow the store on Instagram and Facebook for further information. And spread the word, because the world needs to know!"
A post on the bookshop's social media accounts noted: "We're coming back! Nadege founded The Book House as a dream and it's now found new owners who share her vision and hope to build upon the strong community foundation here in Millburn."
Noting that many people had commented on and liked Nicoll's post on Facebook's Happy Millburn page announcing the shop's re-opening, TAPinto wrote that "Nicoll is as happy as her former patrons to see the store return."
New owner Melody Kurson shared: "We are so excited to re-open and continue building the warm, friendly community of readers that Nadege has established here in Millburn. We live in this community, we care about it and we know that there are others who value the hand curation and free exchange of ideas that only a fiercely local, independent bookstore can provide. Great coffee, too!... Anyone wants to support us now can deal Amazon a death blow by going to bookshop.org and selecting the Book House to order whatever great books at affordable prices you want shipped to your house."
Ken Kurson was editor-in-chief of the New York Observer when it was owned by his close friend Jared Kushner and is now head of Sea of Reeds Media, where Melody Kurson, formerly an educator, is a v-p. Ken Kurson has been in the news for legal problems involving his ex-wife.