Congratulations to Books & Company, Oconomowoc, Wis., which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this Saturday, September 21, 6-9 p.m. with cake, memories, shared stories and live music. In addition, past and present Books & Company booksellers, founder Diana Cohen and co-owner and managing partner Lisa Baudoin will be on hand.
"We have always seen Books & Company as a community gathering place," Baudoin told Living Lake Country. "We have book clubs and craft groups that meet here. We offer story times for children and invite authors to come in to talk about their works. The community shows a tremendous amount of support. It's amazing to stay in business for 30 years, and it's because of this community that we have been able to do just that. I feel so lucky to be a part of this community and I love that I love my job."
Living Lake Country has a history of the store, which Cohen founded in 1983 when she bought a small Little Professor franchise. She revived the store, changed the name when the franchise agreement ended, expanded and then moved to larger quarters in 1995.
She explained Books & Company's name: "We wanted to be known as a place in the community for people to discover good books and good company. Bookstores and coffee shops are places for people to gather and share their stories. We wanted to be that place for our community."
In 2007, Baudoin moved with her family from Iowa to become co-owner with Cohen. "I was on the board of the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association when I met Diana, and we really hit it off," she said. "It came to a point in my life when I needed to do something else, and so I moved to Wisconsin to buy a bookstore in 2007."
Cohen now lives in South Carolina and helps with bookkeeping.
