It began with a simple act of familial goodwill, when, in 2024, Alex John dropped by Renaissance Books’ storied location in Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. He wanted to say hello to his great-uncle and bookstore owner, Robert John, and to see if Great Uncle Bob could use some help sorting stacks and stacks of books.

The jumble of well-loved texts is part of the quaint appeal of this airport bookstore, which came to be when Robert won a bid in 1979 to bring a second Renaissance store – and tens of thousands of used books – to the main terminal. The original location, co-founded by Robert’s brother George, opened Downtown before eventually moving to Southridge Mall, where it is still in operation today.

A used bookstore is a bit of an anomaly in an airport, but Robert, 79, ma

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