A new chapter is being written for Dowagiac’s top source of literary treasures.

After a several-month hiatus, downtown’s Olympia Book Store has been reopened for business, now operated by a new — yet familiar — face.

Dowagiac’s Jeff Gunn has taken over ownership of the used bookstore, taking the reigns from his stepfather and founder of the Front Street establishment, Paul Pugh, in October.

Gunn, along with his fiancée Melissa Clanton, have reopened the store, which was temporarily closed in spring following the passing of Pugh’s wife and Gunn’s mother, Karen.

A former banker and longtime actor and supporter of the Beckwith Theatre Company, Gunn has stepped in several times in the past to help Pugh when he was still running the store, which opened in 1987. However, even when he and his fiancée lived several years in the apartment above, Gunn was never heavily involved with the business.

That changed several months ago.

“When my mom passed away in March, he [Paul] was looking to get out of the business completely,” Gunn said. “I didn’t want to see it shut down or go into someone else’s hands.”

While Pugh still owns the business, Gunn said he has taken over the day-to-day operations, and is looking to completely purchase the store from his stepfather in the future, he said.

While still learning the ropes of the trade, Gunn has enjoyed the challenges — and freedom — that comes with running his own establishment, he said.

Despite the change in management, Gunn and Clanton have changed little about the experience that loyal customers of the used bookshop have come to expect.

The shelves of the warmly lit store are lined with thousands of second-hand fiction and nonfiction books, ranging in price from 75 cents to upwards of $200. Among the works available for purchase are several first editions from famous authors, and several books that have been personally signed by the writers that have visited Dowagiac during the Dogwood Fine Arts Festival, Gunn said.

“These are the kinds of places you can find the real hidden treasures, compared to somewhere like a Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million,” Gunn said.

In spite of the transition that many readers have made to e-readers and other digital devices, Gunn has been pleasantly surprised to find that many in the greater Dowagiac area still prefer the physical versions found inside the confines of Olympia.

“We still run into people who like the experience of buying real books, who love the feeling of holding one in their hands and turning pages,” Gunn said.

Olympia Book Store is located at 208 S Front St., and is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.