New owners of beloved Wichita bookstore ‘want to continue that legacy’

For the first time in three decades, Sarah Bagby no longer is the owner of Watermark Books & Cafe.

However, new owners Erin and Ryan Potter hope to continue her legacy.

“We’re here to enhance what the community already loves about Watermark and want to continue to make it a special place for everyone,” Erin Potter said.

The sale closed Tuesday. Transworld Business Advisors of Wichita listed it for $247,400, which didn’t include an approximately $250,000 inventory.

No one involved shared the sale price.

Erin Potter is a Neodesha native, and her husband is from Manhattan. The two met at Wichita State University, where Erin Potter went for her undergraduate degree, and Ryan Potter went for his MBA.

“We met here and decided this is the place we want to be,” Erin Potter said.

That’s thanks to College Hill, she said.

“We live in the community and in the neighborhood as much as we do our house.”

The Potters, including their daughters, Julia, 5, and Isabella, 2, are avid readers and regular visitors to Watermark, which is how they came to buy it.

“Just the community of Watermark has always inspired us,” Erin Potter said.

She’s a fan of mystery, suspense and romance novels, and Ryan Potter likes history and nonfiction. Their girls attend story time at the store on Saturdays.

Potter said she’s also a fan of Watermark’s welcoming environment and dedicated, knowledgeable staff.

She said she and her husband plan on “listening and learning to see how we can best support the staff.”

While the Potters have day jobs — Erin Potter has a background in physician and provider recruitment, and Ryan Potter is vice president of product and technology for Koch Engineered Solutions — they hope to be a presence at the store, too, along with their daughters.

“We’re going to lean on the staff a lot to continue to support the store in the day-to-day, but one of our goals is to be part of the community as well,” Erin Potter said.

“Our first goal is to ensure a smooth transition.”

She said Bagby “has been incredibly supportive and generous with her time and advice.”

That includes helping the Potters with contact information for authors and others who help schedule authors to speak at Watermark or larger venues when the store gets blockbuster guests.

”We really want to make sure that we’re supporting . . . what Watermark is today and the programs that we currently offer,” Erin Potter said.

In an e-mailed statement, Bagby said she was immediately impressed with the Potters.

“In our meetings, they were keen to learn more about my story with the bookstore and indicated that they were not looking to make sweeping changes,” she said. “Customers appreciate our supportive and informed staff. I have confidence that in partnership with the staff, the Potters will ensure that Watermark Books & Café remains Wichita’s home for books.”

Erin Potter said she and her husband aren’t planning any changes, including to the store’s hours.

Nor do they plan to move the store from Lincoln Heights at Douglas and Oliver, where Bagby moved it when she became majority owner in 1996.

Original owner Bruce Jacobs opened Watermark downtown at 149 N. Broadway in 1977.

“We love the location and love how it is such an important part of the College Hill community as well,” Erin Potter said.

She said she and her husband are appreciative of so many people’s support of the store through the years because it’s that “dedication and love that’s made it such a special place today.”

“It’s important for people to know that we purchased Watermark for what it stands for, and we want to continue that legacy.”

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This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 4:01 AM.