Jen Lemberger and Greg Feitt are the new owners of Chaucer's Books, Santa Barbara, Calif., after purchasing the bookstore from founder Mahri Kerley, who opened the shop in 1974 and has run it ever since, the Santa Barbara Independent reported, adding that Lemberger and Feitt "not only know the shop well, but also fell in love between the shelves nearly 20 years ago."
Although the ownership change is bittersweet due to its falling just before the bookshop's 50th anniversary in November, for Kerley it "is a fitting next step to keeping the legacy of the shop she opened up almost by accident all those years ago. And for Feitt, a longtime Chaucer's employee who has worked his way up to general manager, and now co-owner, it's a lifelong dream come true," the Independent wrote.
"It's great having survived all the change. I've been doing it for 50 years," Kerley said, adding that she is pleased the shop won't be going anywhere anytime soon. "That's why I'm so happy to sell to somebody who grew up with the store. It definitely was important that it be owned by somebody who understood Chaucer's."
Feitt and Lemberger met as part-time employees at Chaucer's, where Feitt began working in 2004. Lemberger, who joined the staff in 2005, said Feitt caught her eye early on. In 2006, they started dating, and have been together ever since.
"We've both always been book nerds. Our homes have always had overflowing shelves and piles of books," Lemberger said, noting that they "deeply believe reading and literacy are instrumental for creating empathy, curiosity, well-being, sense of belonging, and general individual and community success."
Feitt became the shop's book buyer and general manager in 2017, and throughout their time working together as booksellers, the couple had a lingering thought: Wouldn't it be amazing if we could own the place?
"Realizing a dream is great, but in reality, there are the logistics, the contracts, the financing, etc.," Feitt said. "We wanted to make sure throughout the process that we could actually fiscally do this, but also reassure Mahri that we weren't looking at this as coming in and taking over.... Chaucer's is a community institution, and we want it to continue as such and continue her legacy. So, while we have ideas and tweaks for the future, Chaucer's will remain Chaucer's."
The new owners said they are excited to serve the community with the same offerings Chaucer's has always provided. "Reading and learning and curiosity and comfort and new experiences and the windows and mirrors of stories are so important," Feitt said. "Being able to connect a person to that one book is an amazing thing to be able to do day in and day out. If we can do that while also fostering relationships with our schools, nonprofits, local authors, and greater reading community, it's a pretty perfect profession."