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Rainy Day Books in Fairway going up for sale after nearly half a century in business

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For 47 years, Vivien Jennings and Roger Doeren have remained the friendly faces customers could expect to see at Rainy Day Books, an iconic local bookstore in the Fairway Shops along Shawnee Mission Parkway.

But that will soon change.

Jennings and Doeren announced this week that they plan to sell Rainy Day Books in order to retire.

Why now? Jennings and Doeren are ready to retire, according to an announcement made in the May 2 edition of Rainy Day’s customer newsletter.

The couple said they welcomed their first great-grandchild into the world on March 21, in addition to another grandchild on May 1.

That and the couple said the return of in-person author events have been a hefty lift for the pair.

Key quote: “As the world begins to open back up, the pace and hospitality of the author events we produce requires greater stamina than we have at ages 77 and 70,” the online announcement reads. “It is time for someone new to be the face and voice of Rainy Day Books.”

Background: This announcement comes after two bumpy years for Rainy Day Books.

The bookstore asked the community for donations in April 2020 amid COVID-19 shutdowns.

The support the store subsequently received helped Rainy Day make it to its 45th anniversary in the fall of 2020.

After more than a year of being closed, Rainy Day re-opened for in-store shopping on June 1, 2021.

How to inquire: Those who might be interested in buying Rainy Day books from Jennings and Doeren can contact Geoffrey Jennings at Geoffrey@RainyDayBooks.com.

Potential buyers need to complete an initial screening questionnaire for Rainy Day Books to review with advisors.

The team will start to contact potential buyers who are believed to be the best fit starting in early July 2022.

Something else they said: “The past [two] years were very challenging for us. We endured with support from the community and beyond. In addition, we reinvested and reinvented our business. Today, Rainy Day Books is thriving thanks to a solid core of customers who believe in the power of books, and a growing staff of people who value our customers as much as they value books,” Jennings and Doreren wrote to customers this week.

About the author

Juliana Garcia
Juliana Garcia

👋 Hi! I’m Juliana Garcia, and I cover Prairie Village and northeast Johnson County for the Johnson County Post.

I grew up in Roeland Park and graduated from Shawnee Mission North before going on to the University of Kansas, where I wrote for the University Daily Kansan and earned my bachelor’s degree in  journalism. Prior to joining the Post in 2019, I worked as an intern at the Kansas City Business Journal.

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