Holly and Paul McNally, founders with Ron Robinson in 1980 of Canadian indie McNally Robinson, have quietly retired, handing the reins over to Chris Hall and Lori Baker, who had been slowly taking on ownership duties during the past three years.
Hall joined McNally Robinson in 1996 and has managed the literature section. Baker joined in 2007 as controller, and is responsible for accounting and finance, and the restaurant. The Winnipeg Free Press wrote that the pair intend to "continue to nurture what the McNallys created: the largest independent bookstore in Canada."
"Building McNally Robinson took us on a dazzling ride," Holly McNally said. "Serious gratifying work and endless fun. It is now time to move on. Our memories are robust and our gratitude is immense."
The paper recounted in detail the history of McNally Robinson, which has large stores in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, that feature deep selection, large children's areas, sidelines, event space, classes on a variety of topics, an Espresso Book Machine, restaurants and more. For a time, McNally Robinson had branches in Calgary, Alberta, and Toronto, Ont.
In 2004, the McNallys' daughter Sarah founded a McNally Robinson store in New York City, originally called McNally Robinson, but renamed McNally Jackson in 2008.