The Booktenders has opened in York, Maine, at 463 US Route 1, Seacoast Online reported. Co-owners Michelle Clarke and her husband, Rick, carry fiction and nonfiction for children, teens and adults, along with cookbooks and a small selection of donated, gently used books.
Michelle Clarke, who worked in publishing for around 20 years, told Seacoast Online that prior to her store opening in May, York did not have a bookstore. She and her husband "really wanted to fill that gap."
A lifelong reader, Clarke said she's wanted to open a bookstore of her own since she was 10 years old. The Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown "helped us look at our priorities. Made us sort of think about what some of our long-term dreams are." And as she and her husband were thinking things over, a building became available on Route 1. Soon they decided the opportunity was too good to pass up.
"There is something about having a book in your hands," she said. "We can provide a connection that you can't get if you're shopping online."