A Newry-based father and daughter duo are preparing to open the city’s only independent book store after a dreamy, off-the-cuff statement suddenly became a reality.
The idea to open a book shop came just weeks ago – five to be exact – when dad, Anthony Reavey returned from holidays with a touch of the back-to-work blues.
Speaking to Armagh I, the soon to be shopkeeper said his daughter, Niamh seized upon a notion that just “popped into his head”.
Said Anthony: “You know the way when you come back and you just think, aww back to work! The post-holiday blues. I was telling my daughter I was in a class book shop and I’d love to open a book shop like that and she just said, ‘Let’s do it, lock it in!'”
To say that Anthony “locked it in” would be an understatement. He zeroed in on the concept almost overnight.
“I found the premises straight away… the same day that I decided we were doing it,” laughed Anthony. “We were in Newry driving around and I found the perfect premises and I literally had the deal done the next day!”
It might have been an impulsive decision but once he’d signed on the dotted line he knew they had to open… ideally before Christmas.
Said Anthony: “The next thing that popped into my head was we need to get a move on here because Christmas is coming up. There’s no point opening up a book shop and missing out on the Christmas market so there has just been a massive push on since then.
“I have been working night and day for the last couple of weeks.”
They are keen readers but neither Anthony nor Niamh, or any other member of their family, has any experience working in a book shop. The entire process has been a very speedy learning curve.
Niamh, however, does have a wealth of retail experience making her the ideal day-to-day store manager.
The pair joined forces with the largest book wholesaler in Ireland, Argosy, and attended their warehouse recently in Dublin to stock up ahead of opening.
Anthony described the experience like walking round Tesco with a big trolley, but said: “Instead of walking down the fruit and vegetable section and onto dairy we were walking from Thrillers to History and Politics and all the different sections of books. It took us all day!
“We were there for hours and hours and half way through the day they got us tea and sandwiches and we went again.”
The distributor have also promised to keep the pair up to date with the Top 20 and new releases so that the hottest and most sought-after new reads are always in stock.
To cover all bases they have also registered with the largest UK book distributor, Gardners, and have an abundance of stock to keep shoppers happy, from books to jigsaws and calendars to diaries.
The feedback from the public on the lead-up to their grand opening this Friday (October 10) has been nothing short of “overwhelming”.
Anthony said: “Every single person has said this is good news and a great idea. Everyone is so enthusiastic. The response has been overwhelming and the support and goodwill from people has been unbelievable.”
Their next door neighbour in business, Grounded coffee shop have even offered to support their opening by giving any customer who has purchased a book in the first two days a free coffee.
Following a traditional ribbon-cutting for their launch on Friday at 12pm, customers will then be allowed inside to browse and buy.
On Saturday, they will be hosting a kids story time and a local instrumental music group will attend that evening to entertain shoppers.
Ahead of the launch, Anthony said he “can’t wait”, but joked: “I’m a wee bit nervous because if you went into the shop today you would wonder if we were serious! The painter has just finished painting, the carpet arrived this morning and then we just have to clean and lay everything out on the shelves.”
In the future they also plan to host events, book signings and book clubs.
Said Anthony: “My aim is for our shop to be not just a bookshop but a cultural and community hub.”
Everyone is welcome to attend the launch on Saturday, where Anthony and Niamh will both be waiting to greet their new – and hopefully lifelong – customers.
