Longtime Houston independent bookstore Quarter Price Books has a new owner — and soon, will move to a new location.

The purveyor of used books with the tagline “Headquarters for Thinkers” is in the process of relocating to 3636 Greenbriar Drive, a few blocks from its 3820 S. Shepherd Drive location, which is now closed, according to the store’s social media page. 

Owner Nicole Polit said she is targeting late April for a soft opening of the new Quarter Price Books, though she said a certificate of occupancy from the city of Houston is still pending. The 1,550-square-foot storefront is about 300 square feet larger than the old storefront, has higher ceilings, more natural light and more parking space, she said. 

“We’re pretty much right around the corner from the previous location,” Polit said. “It just needed some new life.”

Polit, who lives in Sugar Land, bought the business last month from Larry Turk, who founded it about 45 years ago, she said. She has been a stay-at-home mom for the past decade and worked in facilities management and retail before that, she said.

“He was ready to pass on the business and I just happened to be in the market for purchasing a bookstore, so that’s how we got here,” Polit said. 

For the past three weeks, Polit and her family have been moving stacks upon stacks of books and setting up shelves, some handmade by her father-in-law, she said. A hurdle has been setting up an electronic inventory system to track the store’s tens of thousands of books — something like 40,000, though the final count is still pending, she said.

“There was never an inventory system,” Polit said. “It’s a big task.”

The more spacious new storefront will give shoppers more room to walk around and peruse the shelves, Polit said. She also plans to add armchairs and coffee tables at the front of the store, “so you can hang out and discuss books.”

Polit said she wants the new location to retain the old storefront’s atmosphere, which she described as “kind of like a home library.”

“We’re trying to keep the same feel,” Polit said. “We didn’t want to really change it from what it was, since it’s been a staple for so long.”