After purchasing the Book Shoppe in Medina, N.Y., earlier this year, author and bookstore owner Julie Berry is planning to reopen the store as Author's Note: A Bookstore next month, the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal reported.
The store is undergoing renovations that will make the space more open and a little bigger. It will still serve coffee, and the store's grand reopening will coincide with the launch of Berry's next book, Cranky.
Berry, who grew up in Medina, has moved back to own and operate Author's Note. She told the Journal that when she learned that the Book Shoppe was up for sale, she "couldn't bear the thought of it ceasing to be a bookstore" and felt that Medina needed a bookstore. She noted that when she last lived in Medina there was no bookstore in town.
"If there'd been a bookstore when I was a kid, oh my, I would've been pounding on the door begging for a job," Berry remarked.
Once the store is open for business and events are possible again, Berry hopes to make Author's Note a community hub. In particular, she wants to host events where writers can meet other writers, adding that she didn't meet another author until she was in college.
Berry said indie bookstores were "crucial" to her success, and she's followed the industry over the course of her career. "I really appreciate independent bookstores and I am a big believer in their importance to the publishing industry, to communities, to arts and culture and literacy in the community. They play such a role in getting kids excited by reading."
Previous owners Gloria and Federick Fierch put the store up for sale last year after buying it from longtime owner Sue Phillips in December 2019.