Dorothy June Booksellers opened earlier this fall at 107 W. Orange Ave., Ste. A, in Foley, Ala. Gulf Coast Media reported that owner Reide Irwin "aims to uphold the tradition of physical print editions."
"I have grown up with a love for reading, and every one of my family loves to read, so it has just kind of always been part of my life," Irwin said. "I have always wanted to have a small business in Foley, and I have always wanted to share my love for reading with the community."
The bookshop's name derives from "women who loved to read in my family," she noted. "We came up with the name of the bookstore to recognize those women while also celebrating several decades of a love for reading."
Irwin envisions her bookstore as a place that will cater to people of all ages and with different genre preferences. "It was a process of wanting to make sure there was something for everyone," she noted. "I asked a lot of people in the community of all varying ages and groups what their interests were in reading because everyone likes to read something different. We just wanted to make sure we had a good balance of fiction, nonfiction and everything in between."
Noting that she is a big supporter of her local library and visits other bookstores when traveling, Irwin observed: "I think that small local shops have something unique to offer because they are exactly that: local. One of my family's favorite activities is finding the local bookshop when we visit a new place, so we hope to be that for the community of Foley. The unique thing about local bookstores is that they are able to curate a display of books that is specialized to just that store. We have different products to offer than a typical larger chain, and we can also order books for customers per their request. In fact, we've already begun doing so."