Revati Kilaparti and Teresa Steele purchased Old Firehouse Books, 232 Walnut St., from former owner Susie Wilmer at the start of the year, Kilaparti and Steele confirmed to the Coloradoan Jan. 29.
In Brief:
- Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins has new ownership.
- Longtime employees Revati Kilaparti and Teresa Steele purchased the store.
- Former owner Susie Wilmer is retiring after 40 years in the book business.
- The new owners plan to keep operations largely the same in the first year.
Wilmer has owned area bookstores for 40 years — starting out as a partner at the Book Rack and operating its Cheyenne and Greeley locations in the 1980s, she said. Wilmer and her late husband, Richard Sommerfeld, purchased the Fort Collins Book Rack in 2001 and moved it from Midtown to its current Walnut Street location in 2009.
Given the 1882 building’s history as Fort Collins’ first city hall and firehouse, Wilmer said they renamed the business Old Firehouse Books…