2010 marks Kennedy Book Store's 60th year in business and the same family that opened the doors in 1950 still oversees every aspect of the store's operations today. Still very much a part of it all is Joe Kennedy, the family patriarch who, along with his daughter Carol Behr, agreed to sit down with Business Lexington and divulge the secrets to six decades of success in the bookstore business. Carol quickly acknowledges that she relies on her father's still excellent advice as she now manages the South Limestone business. As the buzz of students' voices ebbed and flowed in the store below their second floor offices we delved into their story.
BL: What was your motivation in opening a book store?
JK: After the army, 1946, I worked at Indiana University's book store in Bloomington, Indiana. Of course, I learned a lot there and got good advice from my boss. I was married and wanted my own business. Lexington offered the right competitive situation...the UK Book store in a college town. My wife and I worked all the time and we were blessed with having the time to do it. We lived and breathed the business. She was my partner; we'll be 65 years married in December this year. Work was it, and church. Carol came along later, and even then she was at the store with us all the time.
BL: Where did your funding come from?
JK: $1000 from brother. With it we bought school supplies: notebooks, paper, pencils and pens. To the penny. The original order came to $1200 and I cut it back to $1000. We started by buying used books in May and June of 1950 before fall semester. It was a pretty good measure of what we were going to be able to do.
BL: What's been the most rewarding aspect of owning your own business?
JK: The freedom to make my own decisions, right or wrong, and live and die with it. We bought books for a dime in the beginning. Just let them know we'd do it. And then we paid in silver dollars. And $2 bills. The other merchants didn't have the slots in their cash register drawers to hold them, but they got a lot of them and they knew where they came from. You learn to love the business with the successes you have.
BL: What have been your survival tactics when things got tough, including the current economy?
JK: Continue to do the right thing. Treat people like family and exercise good business practices. Stay with the basic premise, which for us is more used books. It's not just Lexington anymore. With online, it's worldwide.
CB: Treat employees well and they stay around - and we have very good employees. We have employees who are the kids of past employees. People who used to work here stop in all the time and introduce us to their kids who are going to UK. It's people; so many relationships. And it's service. Make people happy.
BL: And how many employees do you have?
CB: Full time, 18. Part time, 40 to 100 depending on the time. We all bleed blue and go to the games, big supporters. We definitely know the pulse of the fans - we are fans!
JK: It's kept me young, working with 18 to 24 year olds!
BL: Your most famous shoppers?
JK: Henry Faulkner. He came in barefoot. Wendell Berry. Ashley Judd. So many players.
BL: Any lessons learned to pass on?
JK: Get personally involved. Spend time and energy and work hard. Have a positive attitude. And, you'd better love it.
Although Kennedy Book Store has changed locations a number of times it has never ventured far from its original location at 541 South Limestone, a glass fronted building that was once a grocery and only about 30 feet square. From there following shuffles up and down South Limestone, all within a few blocks, the Kennedys have landed securely at 405 South Limestone and incorporated the ArtPart which they bought in 1995. Their commitment extends to educational philanthropy: $10,000 in Joseph P. Kennedy scholarships given each year to UK for ten deserving students who are outstanding in academics and community involvement.
BL: What does the future hold?
CB: We will have success changing with technology. It's a new business and we will learn to exercise the principles to adapt.
With that Joe Kennedy smiles at his daughter and nods his head.