Bookhaven in Fairmount to reopen under new ownership
“There is no Fairmount without Bookhaven.”
It looks like Bookhaven will make it to 40 years after all.
The beloved Fairmount bookstore, which announced its abrupt closure in March, has been purchased and will reopen in the coming weeks.
The good news came the same way the bad news was initially delivered: a sign taped to the business’s front door.
“Bookhaven is reopening soon. Thank you to Rolf and Ricci for over thirty years of hard work, and for building an institution essential to our neighborhood,” the sign, posted earlier this week, said. “There is no Fairmount without Bookhaven. We are happy and humbled to carry on its legacy.”
Details are scarce, but the new owners are a local married couple, Eliza Brilliant and Ilia Ovechkin.
When reached by The Inquirer, Brilliant said official updates and an opening day were still being planned, but that she’d provide a statement later Friday. This story will be updated when we hear back.
» READ MORE: Bookhaven in Fairmount closes after a nearly 40-year ‘labor of love’
Husband-and-wife duo Rolf and Ricci Andeer first purchased and opened Bookhaven in 1987. Rolf Andeer worked for SEPTA for a decade while Ricci cared for their two children before they set out to do their own thing.
The shop quickly became a local favorite, with rooms of wall-to-wall used books and a rotating lineup of fluffy, friendly shop cats.
The Andeers attributed the store’s closure to their declining health. Rolf Andeer, 79, was recently diagnosed with cancer and Ricci Andeer, 77, also has medical concerns.
Over the years, the shop saw a changing Fairmount and shifts in the book-selling industry, from the rise of the internet, to the COVID-19 pandemic sparking renewed interest in analog, keeping the shop above water in recent years.
And don’t worry — the cats are safe. Both Emma (now Jellyfish) and Jane have been adopted and are safe and cozy, the Andeer family told The Inquirer.
