Paperbacks Ink, a used and new bookstore/coffee shop in the Hilton Village neighborhood of Newport News, Va., will host a grand re-opening celebration this weekend, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, Independent Bookstore Day. The Peninsula Chronicle reported that Tikesha Williams bought the bookstore last November from Tara Brandt, whose husband was retiring from the Air Force, leading them to leave the area. Williams has been making changes to the bookstore since the purchase, including the addition of more new books inventory.
"I always wanted to own a bookstore," Williams told WHRO, adding that her shop provides recourse for those readers who feel left behind by online shopping and big box stores. She recently asked a man in her store why he decided to shop at Paperbacks Ink rather than order online.
"He said that he liked the hunt of the book," she noted. "It was more fun for him to go to different places and try to find it. So he started with our store and we didn't have it. And he had plans on going to the other bookstores. His last resort would be to try to order it online or go to a big-box store to get it."
Paperbacks Ink is taking part in the first Hampton Roads Bookstore Crawl, which started Sunday and wraps up in time for Independent Bookstore Day. Eleven local indie bookstores are participating to spread the word about what they bring to Hampton Roads.