Les Renards & Co., a new and used bookstore benefiting the Norfolk Library Associates, held a grand opening earlier this month in Norfolk, Conn., NorfolkCT.org reported.
The bookstore, which resides in the historic Arcanum Building in Norfolk, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and carries titles for all ages. Roughly 30%-40% of the store's inventory is from the Norfolk library's collection, with other used titles acquired from other sources. It also will stock unusual novelty items from France. (The store's name, "the foxes" in French, is a play on the elusive creature often seen in Norfolk.)
The bookstore grew out of a pop-up shop that appeared last year in the same location. It was intended to augment the library's book sale, which is held every year in August. Trish Deans, who came up with the idea for the pop-up along with Michael Selleck, said the pop-up worked so well they thought, "Why not pay the rent and make it permanent?"
Deans is heading the bookstore. Selleck, who retired in 2017 after a long career at Simon & Schuster, most recently as executive v-p, sales & marketing, has headed the Haystack Book Festival for the last seven years. The store will carry titles from authors appearing at the festival, which is held the first weekend in October, and will expand its hours to coincide with special events in town.