KB Books first opened its doors at San Diego State in 1986. Before that, KB Books was a phone order/delivery operation that served students at UCSD. Each year KB Books has grown, reaching more and more students who want to save money and do business with people who respect and understand their needs. Because of this dedication to service, and the appreciation that has been shown for a business that is "run by students for students," KB Books now sells approximately 1 out of every 3 books during a semester at San Diego State.

In 1991 KB Books opened the Mesa College location. This was the second KB Books in San Diego and a big step towards bringing the lowest prices possible to all San Diego college students. The Mesa store was an instant success, which unfortunately caused some problems. A large college bookstore chain bought up the original KB Books location and KB Books was forced out. Rather than give up, Ken Appel (the owner of KB Books) found another site and continued to operate at Mesa College. Today KB Books sells 1 out of every 4 books sold at San Diego Mesa College.

KB Books opened at San Diego City College in 1996. This was the third KB Books to open in San Diego, and was well received by the students and faculty of the college. Today 1 in 5 books sold at City College are sold by this KB Books location. In addition to servicing City College, the downtown/east village location expanded its operation in 2008 to include books for the NewSchool of Architecture and Design.