If you have attended church or Vacation Bible School, liked Christian music or were just downtown shopping, you’ve probably been inside the Bible Book Store, a staple of downtown Meridian for 40 years.

    Located at the corner of Ninth Street and 23rd Avenue, the retail venue has sold all sorts of Christian and church-related items to numerous individuals and local churches.

    That, however, has come to an end.

    The business, which for years has been operated by Cathy Carpenter, has been sold to Randy Miller of Philadelphia. The store is closed and all the existing inventory is being boxed up to be moved.

    “Randy bought the store and he’s going to be moving it to Philadelphia, so it will continue to live and it will be called Crystal River,” Carpenter said.

    Like the business, the building also has been recently sold. Steven LaBiche, owner of LaBiche Jewelers is the new owner. Carpenter was enthusiastic about the building’s new owner, who, based on their conversations, said he was going to make an effort to “do things right.”

    “The previous owner was really good to us, but I think Stephen will bring a fresh perspective to it,” Carpenter said.

    “Downtown is our heart and we need to keep it as our heart,” she said. “Stephen plans to turn this building into something beautiful so that it will be here another 100 years. I wish more people would do that same thing and bring downtown Meridian back to life.”

    LaBiche, who has been in the family business since 1980, was born in Meridian.

    “I like staying here and I believe in fighting for downtown,” he said.

    His father’s business, Lerner’s Jeweler’s, started small, on the ground floor of the Threefoot Building. Over the years, it has expanded to a 2,000 square-foot business on Eighth Street.

    The building that housed the Bible Book Store has a total of 7,000 square feet, and LaBiche plans to move his business into a subset of it over time.

    “Over the next 3 to 5 years, possibly as long as 10 years, we will move into 4,000 square feet of the building, and maybe have other spaces to rent,” he said.

    LaBiche says Meridian needs to hang on to downtown buildings, and that many times just cleaning them up and painting them is a good start. He’s observed that over the past year or so, there has been a noticeable amount of reinvestment in downtown – which makes him optimistic about the future of business in downtown Meridian.

    As for Carpenter’s future, she said her plans are “just being a grandmother with my first grandbaby.”