Renaissance Books

[6] It holds about 60,000 volumes; in a recent The New York Times article, it was praised for its "quirkiness", with one customer saying, "They are totally not what people think of with an airport bookstore.

The article contained speculation that owner John's motivations ranged from active perversity to "gaming the system" to a simple inability to perceive that clutter offends other people.

[9] In November 2015, the city ordered John to demolish the downtown building[10] because of unsafe structural conditions dating back to the early 20th century.

[12] In November 2012, it was reported that Renaissance Books would open a branch downtown at the nearby The Shops of Grand Avenue retail mall.

[9][13] In October 2018, it was reported that the Grand Avenue branch was closing down and moving to Southridge Mall on the south side of Milwaukee County.