Book-A-Holic
924 S. Oliver • Wichita, KS 67218
(316) 684-2600

Dave Lovett, Owner

Dave and his wife, Maria, first imagined owning a used bookstore during their final years in the Air Force. While stationed in Europe, they often ordered books for their personal use through used book sources in the states.

After returning from Europe, they developed their own mail order business, marketing used books to overseas military personnel. They had gathered a substantial inventory in excess of over 10,000 books to catalog and offer for sale. Unfortunately, printing and mailing costs quickly sapped and outpaced revenue generated through sales. With an obvious failing endeavor on their hands, and thousands of books crowding them out of their home, they looked for the solution to how to sell ten thousand books: a garage sale every week for a year? a flea market? or how about opening a used bookstore?

They settled for the latter, and two weeks from the day the decision was made, they opened their first store "Enjoy Used Books." That was in 1990 in Colorado Springs. A little over a year later, Dave resigned from the Air Force and moved from Colorado to Maria's hometown of Derby.

They took what little savings they had and gambled on a much larger store in what they considered a growing market. In 1992, "Book-A-Holic" (a much better name) opened in Parklane Shopping Center, gain facing a whole new realm of problems. The space in Colorado was only 1000 sq. ft. and the Parklane space was 3000 sq. ft. So now, 10,000 books, which just a short time earlier seemed like a lot, now seemed miniscule. With limited funds and a big imagination, they started searching for books in large numbers. Two more expansions, the last one recently finished, added a total of 6000 sq. ft. and another 80,000 titles.

Dave and Maria believe their future lies online and are currently moving in that direction. We are happy to have "Book-A-Holic" as a long-time and valued tenant at Parklane Shopping Center.