Skylark Bookshop hosted its grand opening Saturday at 22 S. 9th St. in downtown Columbia, Mo. The store is owned by novelist Alex George, who also founded the Unbound Book Festival in Columbia. Carrie Koepke is the manager.
Just before opening, George and Koepke shared a selfie on Facebook, noting: "As ready as we'll ever be. #25minutestogo." Shortly thereafter, they posted: "Under way. So grateful to everyone who's already come out and bought a book!"
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| Alex George and Carrie Koepke | |
They eventually summed up the bookshop's opening day on Skylark's website: "Day one of Skylark Bookshop is in the books, and yes, the pun is very much intended. It was a wonderful, miraculous, exhausting day. We (Carrie and Alex) have so much to be thankful for.
We're grateful to all the local businesses and craftsmen who helped us turn the space into something truly special. We're grateful to Allison Smythe for our logo. We're grateful to our wonderful staff, who were brilliant and worked insanely hard all day, especially when various gremlins appeared to cripple various bits of equipment at crucial times. We're grateful to everyone who posted photos and messages of support on social media. We're grateful to the thousands of authors who wrote the amazing books we get to sell. We're grateful to our spouses and our families, who have hardly seen us for weeks but who have been unwaveringly supportive throughout. Most of all, we're grateful to our community, who turned out in droves and bought books. And we're grateful that we get to do it all again today."
And... Theo made his official debut as bookshop dog yesterday.