Two longtime, favorite customers of the Harry W. Schwartz store in Mequon, Wis., brought in this cake on the store's last day of business to thank the staff--and to wish them luck as the store reopens as Next Chapter Bookshop. The pair made the cake, with butter cream frosting, from scratch by hand. Lanora Hurley, owner of Next Chapter, commented: "Yummm!"

Next Chapter will open on Wednesday at 10 a.m. and already has several author events scheduled, including appearances by Stefan Merrill Block, author of The Story of Forgetting, and Jennifer Chiaverini, author of The Lost Quilter. The store will hold a grand opening celebration at the end of May.

Hurley called owning a bookstore a longtime dream and traced her love of books to helping out in her grandmother's shop, ABC Bookstore, where she opened boxes of new shipments, among other things.

A native of Cedarburg, Wis., Hurley has been a bookseller for 14 years, first as manager of Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C., and then at Schwartz, which included managing the Mequon store the last two and a half years.

Besides making the store "a place where book lovers will want to spend their time," she aims to have a strong web presence via its website, e-mail newsletter, Facebook page and on Twitter.

Next Chapter is located at 10976 No. Port Washington Rd., Mequon, Wis. 53092; 262-241-6220; nextchapterbookshop.com.