The Booksmiths Shoppe recently celebrated its grand opening in the Summit building at 100 Reserve Road in Danbury, Conn. The News Times reported that owner Michelle Smith has sold new and used books as an online business, but this is her first bricks-and-mortar retail bookstore.
"I was a little nervous, opening a new indie bookstore in Danbury," Smith said. "But we had a great first day, better than expected. The traffic here was steady and I couldn't be more pleased with it.... What we have here is a cozy bookstore with all kinds of variety. My very first customer came in looking for a specific book and couldn't find it. But he kept looking around and he found another book and bought it."
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Smith had decided to sell books on eBay and other online sites before taking the next step and opening a bricks-and-mortar retail store. "I was looking for the right place to go, where there was potential for a lot of customer traffic," she said. "I thought it would be a good fit for me here at the Summit."