Page Turner Books finds new location in downtown Kent

Page Turner Books is moving to a new location in downtown Kent after water pipes burst and damaged its current site.

“It is 100% official,” the store posted Tuesday, Jan. 23 on Facebook. “We will be moving to 215 First Ave where the Game Kastle used to be. Not too far away from our current location.”

An opening date is still to be determined.

Game Kastle closed in November 2023 at 215 First Ave. S. Page Turner Books is moving from 314 W. Meeker St.

Water pipes froze and broke in a vacant unit above Page Turner Books causing flooding damage to the store.

Temperatures on Jan. 14 were below freezing with a high in the 20s. The pipes burst in two places and water cascaded down the walls from the ceiling and light fixtures, according to a GoFundMe.com post by Wayne Curran, owner of the independent new and used bookstore.

“We don’t want to leave Meeker Street for so many reasons but we no longer feel our current building is safe and we exhausted our last option to stay on this street,” according to the store’s Facebook post.

Curran thanked the community for its support.

“Thank you everyone for all the good times over the last seven years and thank you everyone who has shown up to help out after the flooding,” according to the post. “Whether it was to help with the cleanup, donate equipment or donate to our gofundme. Those of you who have made orders on our website and everyone who has been here for us in every other way. Thank you all. You are the best.”

Curran and Josh Mortensen organized a GoFundme page to help cover the damages. The bookstore rented space in the building below an unoccupied unit. Curran said the donations will help with the move and potential legal action against the landlord. The store has set a goal of raising $20,000 after an initial goal of $10,000 to help with repairs. As of Jan. 23, $13,690 had been raised from 192 donations.

“It also appears we will definitely be using a lot of our gofundme donations for legal fees,” according to the Facebook post. “More on that as we are able to discuss it.”

The store carries thousands of used paperbacks both in and out of print, and a few select new titles, mostly by popular demand, according to its website. It also carries role-playing game guides, sci-fi and fantasy novels, sci-fi memorabilia (collectibles, figures), esoteric books and more.

Page Turner Books initially opened in 2007 in Des Moines and closed in 2014 before reopening in 2017 in Kent.