Last-Minute Reprieve for Crocodile Pie

By Claire Kirch, Children's Bookshelf -- Publishers Weekly, 7/24/2008

Crocodile Pie's new and old owners:  Kim Zizic (l.) and Kim White.

Weeks before being scheduled to close, Crocodile Pie, a 19-year-old Chicagoland children’s bookstore, will keep its doors open under a new owner. Kim White, who opened Crocodile Pie in Libertyville, Ill., in 1989, announced earlier this year that she was going to have to close her store. “The lease was up July 31, so I felt it was time for me to move on,” she said, “I was hoping the store would continue, but I could find no buyers.”

Less than four weeks ago, however, Kim Zizic, a longtime store patron and local dentist, whose offices are located near Crocodile Pie, stepped forward to purchase the 400-square-foot store, which carries about 20,000 titles. She will become its owner on August 1, when the sale is finalized.

“It’s part of our community. I don’t want it to go away,” said Zizic, who has no previous bookstore experience. “The store has great sales and recurring business. I want to build on that.”

Inside Crocodile Pie, which will live on under new ownership beginning August 1.

While the store’s name will remain the same, and will continue to emphasize books for children up to age 14, Zizic intends to implement some changes at Crocodile Pie. She will expand the store’s inventory to include YA titles, hoping to bring in more teenage patrons; she will host such events as baby showers and birthday parties in the store; and she will develop more of an online presence for the store, by both upgrading Crocodile Pie’s Web site and launching a gift basket shipping program. She also hopes to start in-store book clubs for children.

“I want to keep kids reading,” said Zizic, who has four teenage children. Her children will be assisting Zizic and her new store manager, Amy Moran, in the store. Three or four of the store’s current 15 part-time employees will continue to work at the store under Zizic’s ownership.

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