Diesel Books, which was forced to close its Malibu store in February after a seven-year run because of a dispute with its former landlord, received an executed lease yesterday from the owner of the Malibu Country Mart and will begin setting up shop in the new space in three weeks.

“We’re ecstatic to be back in Malibu,” said co-owner John Evans who, with his partner Alison Reid, also has stores in Oakland and Brentwood. Evans and Reid, always hoping to re-open there, have been in discussions with their new landlord for several months and are pleased with the new lease and the space designated for Diesel in the upscale Country Mart. “At 1,400 square feet it’s slightly smaller than the original store, which had a bathroom that we never really needed because the mall has its own facilities.” As for staff, Diesel will be sharing employees with its Brentwood store but also hiring up to three new people.

The new Diesel will be housed in a Spanish Revival commercial building with a central courtyard. “It has a nice spill-out area, and we’ll hold our events there in the courtyard. It’s really a good location,” said Evans. He and Reid have lived in Malibu for many years, and are widely known in the area. “This Sunday I was shopping in our local farmer’s market and it seemed that every ten feet someone stopped and asked me, ‘When are you reopening?’ We’ll be sending an e-mail to our customers on Thursday to tell them the good news.” Diesel Malibu will likely be open for business by the middle of October.