Crocodile Pie bookstore to stay open with new owners

Like countless fairy-tale princesses, Libertyville's Crocodile Pie bookstore has been saved from a sorrowful demise and will live on - hopefully happily ever after.

The popular children's shop in the Cambridge Plaza center was set to close this month after nearly 19 years. Founding owner Kim White announced in May she was leaving the book business to spend more time with her now-grown children.

However, a Daily Herald story about the store's pending demise led to a deluge of calls from concerned customers and potential buyers.

Now, business partners Kim Zizic and Amy Moran are set to take over as the new owners Aug. 1.

"(Kim) and I had talked before the article ran, and then afterward she called and said she wanted the store," White said.

"I've always loved the store," said Zizic, a Libertyville resident whose dental practice is in the same shopping center as Crocodile Pie. "I just knew I wanted to do it. I didn't want it to close."

Moran, of Bolingbrook, and Zizic have known each other for about seven years. Zizic's youngest daughter, Maddie, is a student in Moran's Irish dancing class in Libertyville.

Moran is thrilled about the new venture.

"My husband and I have had dreams about owning our own little shop," she said. "But you dream about it, like people dream about winning the lottery."

Zizic and Moran plan to temporarily shut the store Aug. 1 to paint and add new carpeting. They hope to reopen Aug. 13.

Some of the current employees will stay on after the ownership change, but others are leaving, Moran said.

While some changes are planned - such as hosting birthday parties and expanding to the tween market - Moran and Zizic want to continue White's vision for Crocodile Pie.

"We hope that we can fill the big shoes that Kim has left for us," Moran said.

Added Zizic: "We're not going to try to reinvent the wheel, because what we think was here worked great."

White called the decision to leave the business she created bittersweet.

"It's like sending your baby off to college," she said. "But it's time for us to go and let somebody younger take over."

A going-away party for White is scheduled for July 31 at the store. It'll run from 5 to 7 p.m. and is open to the public.