After more than five decades in Fairway, one Rainy Day Books will become two in Johnson County.

This week, the Fairway mainstay announced plans for a new store further west, at Lenexa City Center.

Rainy Day Books is coming to 8703 Penrose Lane

• The store plans to operate inside the Made in Kansas City shop, just off 87th Street and Penrose Lane at Lenexa City Center.
• There, it will be just across Penrose Lane from the Lenexa Public Market and the Johnson County Library’s Lenexa City Center branch.
• The new store aims to open later this month, according to this week’s announcement.

This marks the second Johnson County store for Rainy Day

The new Lenexa space will also be Rainy Day Books’ third overall in the Kansas City metro area.

The bookstore’s original owner, Vivien Jennings, opened Rainy Day’s standalone store at the historic Fairway Shops in the 1970s. Last year, the longtime shop celebrated its 50th anniversary there.

The shop changed hands when Jennings and Roger Doeren, Rainy Day’s chief operations officer (and Jennings’ life partner), retired roughly three years ago.

Local retail company Made in Kansas City became the new owners. The Lenexa space will be the second combined Rainy Day Books and Made in KC store, after another one opened in Kansas City, Missouri’s Power & Light district earlier this fall.

It’s the year of independent bookstores for Johnson County

Rainy Day Books isn’t the only independent bookstore to fill new shelves this year in Johnson County.

Further south, locally owned 3 of Cups recently opened, inside a two-story historic home in downtown Olathe.

By the end of this year, Olathe will see a second bookstore opening. Book and plant shop The Reading Garden, launched by a retired Blue Valley teacher, plans to open in Olathe later this month.

For younger readers, children-focused Mission Bookworm is also preparing to open in downtown Mission later this year.

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