Camino Books: For the Road Ahead in Del Mar, Calif., is for sale. Owners John Evans and Alison Reid opened the store under the name Diesel in 2019. Last year, when they sold their store in Brentwood in Los Angeles, they changed the name of the Del Mar store to Camino Books.
Since 1989, Reid and Evans have opened five Diesel bookstores, all in California. In 2017, they sold the Oakland store to longtime manager Brad Johnson; it's now called East Bay Booksellers. They've also had stores in Larkspur and Malibu.
In announcement about the sale--which had the great subject line "Give the gift of a bookstore!"--they wrote in part, "Our beautiful store is the talk of Del Mar, and a haven for booklovers in North County. We are so excited about the new store but, unfortunately, we are having to step back. For personal reasons we are having to sell it and are hoping to find the right applicant for moving the store forward....
"Known for our excellent curation and vigorous events program, our stores have always worked with schools, concert venues, nonprofits, and institutions along with our daily supply of a diverse range of books to our communities....
"We were drawn to open a store in North County out of our love for the area and the owners of Del Mar Plaza's dedicated desire to have a great independent bookstore again. Del Mar has had a wonderful history of great bookstores over the decades, but had been sorely lacking one.
"We, and the local businesses, families and customers who rely on Camino Books are hoping someone new will seize this opportunity to maintain a great bookstore in the area. Inquiries can be made directly to the owners by filling out the application here.
"We are looking for new energy, passion and commitment to serve this wonderful community with all of its reading needs. We will help through the transition and look forward to keeping a great bookstore in Del Mar, as the village deserves."