Some may believe the era of the independent bookstore is ending, but Laura Murphy isn’t buying it. When Bargain Books in Holt closed after Murphy managed the store for seven year, she wasn’t ready to give up on the concept – or the customers.
“I enjoy the people who shopped there,” Murphy says. “The customers are just great. I've done a lot of retail in my day, and they're the best customers.”
That’s why Murphy opened The Bookshelf on Cedar in Holt in 2012. The approximately 2,300 square foot store offers fiction, children’s literature, textbooks, special orders and more. Murphy says that so far, her hunch that an independent bookstore could still survive seems to be true.
“Every day I get new customer in, and it gets better every day,” she says. “I didn't expect to make any money in the first year…but we did.”
Murphy hopes The Bookshelf will continue to grow so she can hire employees, and potentially open another store in the Lansing area.
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