The Mesa Bookstore closing after 25 years

The Mesa Bookstore is about to end a chapter. It’s been part of the community for 25 years.

David Karys-Schiff and and his wife, Lisa, opened the store in October 17, 1991. They were in completely different job industries. They wanted to open their own bookstore to share their love of stories with others.

The Mesa Bookstore is located on Cliff Drive. It’s a tiny 200 square foot room. If you blink, you might miss it. Each wall is covered in books. The Karys-Schiff’s keep a log of the books and customer’s names in their memory banks.A couple of bookstores came and left Santa Barbara’s Mesa. The Mesa Bookstore held on despite the inventions of the Kindle, Nook and audiobooks.

However, the Karys-Schiff’s need to close this chapter and embark on another. After fielding so many inquiries about the store from people who want to use the space for something else, they found a potential buyer.

“They’re really neat people. Don’t want to say anything just yet, but we’ve found a good fit for keeping the bookstore,” said David Karys-Schiff.

The couple also has another bookstore in Santa Maria called Broadway Books.