Long-Running Brentwood Country Mart Bookstore Sold To New Owners

LOS ANGELES, CA — Diesel, A Bookstore has been sold by its original owners. Its new owners plan to continue operating the long-running bookshop in Brentwood Country Mart, the store announced this week.

"We are pleased to announce that we have found the right buyers for the store, and they’ve found us!," outgoing owners Alison Reid and John Evans wrote in a note to customers.

The new owners, Richard and Heather Turner, will take over Diesel's Brentwood location on Aug. 1, they said.

"We will be on hand for a few more months to smooth the transition. We are so excited to work to help them keep the store as good as you’ve come to expect and to take it forward into the future. All of your favorite booksellers will be continuing to work in the store," Reid and Evans wrote.

The pair founded Diesel in 1989 in the Bay Area, eventually operating five Diesel stores in northern and southern California.

The two remaining Diesels are in Del Mar in LA; the Brentwood Country Mart location has been open for 16 years. Evans said he and Reid will continue to operate the San Diego location but will change its name, with the new Diesel owners taking possession of the franchise brand.

"We want to express our appreciation for your support, in so many ways, throughout these 16 years. We are grateful for your sticking with us through thick and thin, through the pandemic especially, for being able to be a part of this wonderful community of passionate readers. It has been a pleasure to talk books, and all else, with you and to share the book world," Reid and Evans wrote.

City News Service contributed to this report.