Opening The Book Grinder in May of 2007, owner Sandra Emlet is looking to sell her business to start a new chapter in her life.

Opening The Book Grinder in May of 2007, owner Sandra Emlet is looking to sell her business to start a new chapter in her life. The Book Grinder is the only locally-owned buy sell and trade book store in El Dorado.

“I’m moving out of state and I’m looking for somebody to take over the book store so it’s not lost to the community,” Emlet said. “I defintely don’t want to see this lost for El Dorado and the surrounding because I have people that come clear from Eureka, Rose Hill, Andover, Wichita. They just love the book store and the comfortability of it, how I run it, the way it’s set up."

Finding success with a model most book stores have abandoned, Emlet returned to El Dorado after leaving the area after graduating from El Dorado High School. Emlet saw the need for a bookstore in the area. She originally opened The Book Grinder in Augusta before finding her current location at 2222 W. Central in El Dorado.

“When I moved back here El Dorado didn’t have a bookstore anymore,” Emlet said. “I didn’t want to drive to Wichita. I had a four year old daughter at the time and I was thinking about what I could do and still take care of her and be available to her while she was growing up. A light bulb went off. I started collecting books in my basement, hitting estate sales, garage sales and just started accumulating a lot.”

Augusta wasn’t a big enough community to make that location successful so she began looking for a location in El Dorado.

“This building became available,” Emlet said. “It was a good location. It didn’t have a lot of walls. You don’t need walls in bookstores. I opened it up here and kept the one in Augusta open for about a year but it didn’t make enough to make it profitable so I moved it all into this building.”

Emlet saw an immediate impact on the community with her book store. Over the years The Book Grinder has served book lovers of all ages.

“Boy, people were so happy,” Emlet said. “It was a needed place. You get a lot of elderly that that’s all they can do. You get the young. I really cater to the parents and young children. I donate all my books that I can’t sell around the community. I give away free books if they can’t afford it.”

Variety is one area Emlet has focused on. She tried to collect, trade for and purchase more than just the New York Times bestsellers or the popular novels.

“I think I have a pretty good educational system,” Emlet said. “I have a variety of books, not just fiction. Keeping people up to date. They are always amazed at what I have.”

Emlet has built bonds over the years with her patrons and will miss the day to day interactions. “The one I will miss since I’ve been here so long is my customers,” Emlet said. “They are like family.”

Upon hearing of the potential of the book store closing Emlet’s customers are worried about losing the only book store in El Dorado.

“People are sad that they come in and hear this,” Emlet said. They say ‘Oh my God, where are we going to get our books now?’ They don’t want to go clear to Wichita.”