If you’re not familiar with Wild Rumpus Bookstore, it is a 30-year-old children’s bookstore and so much more!

Wild Rumpus is a magical place for children to discover new books, see the animals and enjoy a special story or two. They have received many awards and recognition over the years, including Publishers Weekly National Bookstore of the Year, a mention in the Oprah magazine, Reader’s Digest, a feature on Good Morning America – the list goes on.

 It’s legacy spans 30 years in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis. The iconic bookstore recently changed ownership and BankCherokee was there to support the seller’s and the new owners every step of the way.

 It was very important to the Seller to sell the bookstore to someone who would carry on the Wild Rumpus legacy that she’d built for over 30 years.

Tim contacted Julie Novak in the summer of 2021 (over 2 years ago!) with this idea of purchasing the bookstore, along with three of his co-workers.

BankCherokee helped the group of new owners navigate the process of acquiring the business and spent a good amount of time talking through the SBA process. The Seller and Buyers settled on a price and then they moved ahead to gather financial documents, purchase agreement, gift letters, etc. Lots of paperwork! With the new owners all being in their mid-20’s to early 30’s, they knew very little about business loans and how the whole process works. Julie spent a good amount of time talking through the SBA process and the expectations the bank would have ranging from financial reporting to deposit account expectations. They were excited to take on this new challenge!

BankCherokee finalized this SBA loan in January 2024. Both the Seller and the four new owners are very grateful to BankCherokee for working through this transaction with them, getting it completed and making the new owners dream business venture come true!

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