FARMINGTON – Twice Sold Tales will remain open at its current location on Main Street, with new owners taking over in August.
Longtime owner Jim Logan, who has run the used bookstore at its 155 Main Street location since 1995, recently announced that he intended to step down this year. The idea of running the store had immediate appeal to Amber Kapiloff and Ben Hanstein, Farmington residents who currently manage the Daily Bulldog. They have an agreement in place with Logan to acquire Twice Sold Tales beginning Aug. 1.
“It seemed like a natural fit,” Hanstein said, “despite being from two different eras, used books and digital news seem to go well together.”
The Daily Bulldog, an online newspaper covering Franklin County, will continue to post rolling updates on a day-to-day basis, as it has for more than a dozen years.
On the Twice Sold Tales’ side, Kapiloff and Hanstein intend to continue acquiring and selling used books, much as the store has done for more than two decades. People seeking to donate books may continue to bring them to the store.
Logan said he was excited that Twice Sold Tales had been sold and would continue to operate in the downtown.
“I can’t say how happy I am,” Logan said. “For the community, but also for Ben and Amber.”
Future plans include more seating, refreshments and other updates to the store, such as an enhanced children’s section. Kapiloff said she’s excited to make the area welcoming to the youngest readers in the community with things like beanbags and a potential story hour.
“Jim has always done a good job of getting books into the hands of kids, especially by keeping his prices low enough for kids to buy them themselves. I’m really excited to keep that momentum going and bring in some new energy too,” she said.
The store’s typical hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays, are not expected to change dramatically.
Yeah!! :)
I have had dreams of this place selling used CDs and vinyl. It would be awesome to go down there and flip through some new wave. You wouldn’t get me out of this place. Just thinking out loud…
Yay! So, so happy that this wonderful Farmington place and resource will live on! Congratulations, Ben and Amber! Thanks SO much, Jim. So grateful for Twice Sold Tales!
Wonderful!!
Hooray! That is wonderful news for everyone.
Yeah. Paper books will never go out of style. Just look at the track record of vinyl records, which are making a comeback
Brilliant news!
Thanks for everything Jim!
Yay! This is wonderful news!
Yes, yes, and more yes!!! Thank you Ben and Amber!
A simply elegant solution!
This is great news ! Congratulations !
This news makes me VERY happy!
Yeah! My favorite place… so glad it will remain open! Congratulations everyone
What a surprise….magnificient..Keeping it LOCAL
Thank you Ben and Amber
We will miss you Jim
Congratulations Jim and welcome to Amber & Ben! We’ll be in to see you very soon. Our family was very worried that this was the end for our favorite store… It won’t be the same without getting to visit with Jim, but we will enjoy seeing what changes this brings.
So thrilled to hear this! Thanks to Jim, Ben, and Amber!
Great great news. Keeping downtown Farmington special. I assume they like Bob Dylan.
July 2, 2019
Wonderful! This is better than fireworks! I am delighted to know this community center tree will stay open with new branches.
Ann Arbor
Wonderful news, Ben and Amber. So excited for you!
Congrats to everyone including the community! This is great!
Great news!! Congrats to Ben & Amber!
power-awesome!!
What great news! Twice-Sold Tales has been a Downtown fixture through my twenty years in Farmington and one where my wife and I have spent quite a bit of time and money. Really glad to see it continue, and we wish Jim all the best in future endeavors.
Hooray Ben and Amber! Keeping alive our best sources of information, books and newspapers
Hooray!! Thanks so much, Jim, for maintaining a place for great conversations and wonderful discoveries for so many years. Ben and Amber: thanks for recognizing that used bookstores and local papers are community treasures and for keeping them both going!
Congratulations to all! Best of luck to you, Jim! Welcome aboard Ben and Amber! It is so exciting to know that this venture will be continuing! It is a win-win situation for everyone!
going in to TST I have always found books I longed to read. elated!
This is terrific for Farmington and for small businesses. Happy retirement Jim!
How exciting to read this Keep It Local, Keep People Reading feature where everybody wins!
Or, as Leonardo da Vinci (one of my favorite quotables) once shared, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Just walking into this small-town bookstore makes me smile every single time…and that’s even before I start discovering new authors and thrifty adventures. Franklin County wins big!
CONGRATULATIONS Amber! So exciting!
Oh, how exciting!!
Great news. Congratulations to all.
GREAT NEWS!! And all very positive comments! It’s a miracle!
Wow – a happy ending! Thanks to all three of you – helping to keep our town strong (and well-read!).
I’m glad they’re staying open. Can always find something there….
However, I just wish the political climate would change.
More than thrilled! Love this store!
Thanks Jim.
Great Book Store and a community treasure.
Good job and I’m sure Ben and Amber are up to the task.
Marie mentioned all positive comments so maybe the new owners will not continue the negative political display window display. That would be a major positive going forward and moving on..
Good luck Ben and Amber.
Looking forward to your version.
Best news I’ve seen here in quite some time! Best of luck!
This is wonderful. I am so glad this jewel in Farmington’s Crown will remain open. Thank you to Jim, Ben, and Amber for making this happen!
I will do the same thing to Ben’s store that he does to my comments.
This is great news! Visiting is always a highlight of my trips to Farmington.
Very exciting news!! Thank you!
Fabulous! So glad to have this great community resource continue!
Congratulations!!!!! I’ve never been into the store but now I will have to shop there knowing the backstory.
Jim, sad and happy for you! Delighted for me. Will miss Jim a lot but been a fan of Daily Bulldog since moving up here! Best news!!
Congratulations that is such great news.
So happy about this news! My husband and I just love going in there! Nothing like reading a book in hand and turning the pages! Good luck everyone!
It’s great to learn Twice Sold Tales will remain open and in the same location.
Leave it to Nancy to spoil the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the changes coming to Twice Sold Tales. Mr. Logan is one of the few local business owners to openly stand up against the unbelievably corrupt and illegal administration now residing in the White House. Time will show he is a true patriot.
Thank you Amber and Ben for taking up the challenge to keep books available to everyone.
Congratulations to Ben and Amber, and to Jim as well. This is a win-win-win-etc deal for readers, buyers and sellers alike! I’m looking forward to shopping at Twice Sold Tales for years to come. Thank you all.
This is great news for our town!!
Jim, congratulations on your retirement!!! Thankfully you found someone who will keep your unique establishment open for years to come.
This is Awesome! What a great win-win for all! Keep it local and keep it living – downtown Farmington.
We love books so excited about the larger children’s section and possibly some home school books.
What a relief!! I am ao happy rhe bookstore will still be there. Thanks to the people taking it over, and many thanks to jim logan for the years he put into it.
Jim, Amber and Ben, this makes me so happy! Jim and Twice Sold Tales have been a huge part of my life in Farmington and I’m relieved to know that the store will continue on in good hands :)