LAWRENCE — Those Jayhawk T-shirts are now being sold by people in purple. Varney’s, the long-time book-selling fixture at Manhattan and Kansas State University, now owns the Jayhawk Bookstore in Lawrence. The Jayhawk Bookstore will keep its name and will continue to sell KU and Jayhawk merchandise with nary a hint of purple or Wildcats, Varney’s general manager Steve Levin told the Lawrence Journal-World. Levin calls it “a marriage but with separate bank accounts.” The previous owner was Nebraska Book Co., based in Lincoln, which was selling some of its properties since emerging from bankruptcy. The paper reported that the new owner could use its experience at that other university to boost the football gameday atmosphere at KU. The company could also combine the sales of KU and K-State merchandise and apparel in possible stores in Wichita and Kansas City. It’s not Varney’s first experience with Lawrence. The company already owns the Children’s Bookstore in downtown Lawrence.
Updated 8/15/13 @ 11:17 pm
