There had been plenty of memorable moments as Booktown USA owner Thomas Pesce prepared to close his store for the last time after nearly 23 years in business — such as reconnecting with long-lost customer Larry to give him a book he’d been holding for him.

But there’s another sweet story that the bookseller was excited to share.

Pesce says there used to be a doughnut shop nearby that he’d frequent — perhaps too often, he jokes — that, like his own store, had been forced to close. It had been 7 or 8 years since he’d last seen the shop owner.

Until just recently.

“He pulled in one day, parallel-parked by the hedges, and ran in with a box of doughnuts and said, ‘Tom! For you, good luck!’” says Pesce with a laugh during a phone call on Sunday, Aug. 16, the store’s last day open. “I guess he’d read the article.”

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An article in this newspaper about the store, which came after a tip from a longtime customer, detailed how the bookseller had learned via certified mail on June 20 that he’d need to be out in 60 days. To do so would require selling, donating or moving close to 30,000 books from his cramped store and storage area.

Pesce said he’d been discussing the story with his wife earlier that day. “Carolyn had been mentioning that this morning, saying ‘You know, if it wasn’t for that article, you wouldn’t have had all this business; you would have just faded away,’” he says. “I think that’s true. No one would have known anything, and it would have just been a little statistic.”

But in the final weeks, he says people flocked to the store to shop or say thanks or goodbye or simply spend time there before it closed. He’d been cutting prices to move as much inventory as possible before Monday.

“I’d actually had 75% off,” he says about the final days of the sale and the store. “People just keep coming in, and they’re amazed when they are practically paying nothing for, like, 10-15 books.”

On Monday, Pesce and his wife celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary by overseeing the donation of thousands of remaining books to the nonprofit AMVETS Department of California Service Foundation in Garden Grove, which Pesce praised for being willing and able to clear out thousands of books in a day.

Still, he says it’s hard to see his bookstore without books in it.

“You should see the store; it’s gutted. As far as books go, there’s nothing here, nothing,” he says, sounding a bit stunned. “I was just walking around and, like, 23 years is gone.”

But the bookseller says it’s been a joy to see so many familiar faces in the last few weeks, including those of other small business owners from the nearby pizza parlor and fitness center who wished him well.

“Old customers have come by. There’s a nice lady named Robin … and we’ve been discussing our dogs through the years,” he says.

“A customer, Antonio, who’s been coming here for years, came in and gave me a beautiful acoustic guitar for my retirement,” says Pesce. “I’m overwhelmed, and naturally, I can’t find all the guitar books I had.”

A pair of longtime customers — he calls them “kids,” before clarifying that they are in their 20s or 30s — stopped in, too. “They used to go to the school across the street and get books here through the years, and they came in to say goodbye.”

Even first-timers are visiting, says Pesce. “I had two brothers in from New York yesterday, and that was actually their first time,” he says. “One of them is an artist and a clothing designer, and he was sorry to see me go, but he bought a bunch of books on fashion and art.”

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When asked for any final thoughts, he says he’s grateful for everything this place has given him — including connecting him with a distant cousin who’d come in looking for books about Italy during World War II.

“In this little bookstore, a lot of great little things have happened,” he says. “This has been a blessing, these past 23 years, for me. I really have no right to complain about anything.”

“I didn’t expect thanks, to be honest with you,” he says, referring to the messages and kind words he’s received. “I was just doing something I liked. And I was happy to do it.”

Then, with a familiar note of urgency in his voice, he says it’s time to sign off.

“OK, I have to go. I have customers waiting to be rung up.”