Broadway Books, Portland, Ore., has found its new co-owner. In June, the bookshop announced that Roberta Dyer was retiring and Sally McPherson would be seeking a new business partner. Yesterday, Kim Bissell, who has been working at the store since September, was introduced as the new co-owner. To celebrate the change, Broadway Books will host a party November 9 to "reminisce about the past and speculate about the future."
Bissell "brings to the store an enthusiastic spirit, a head full of ideas and plans, a willingness to work hard, a warm and friendly personality, and the skill to learn quickly," Broadway Books noted in its announcement. "Although this is her first bookstore gig, she is no stranger to bookstores. She even met her husband in a bookstore! She's also (no small point) a voracious and eclectic reader. We knew the first time we sat down with her that she was a book person down to her bones. We could not be happier that we found just the right person."
Dyer also shared some thoughts about this transition in her book life, noting that "as I prepare to hang up my professional hat, I am struck by what this community has meant to me. I have been a bookseller since I finished college in 1970. That's 44 years of slinging stories. Almost exactly half of those years have been spent behind the counter, in front of the counter, and lurking in the aisles--helping customers, ordering books, receiving books, shelving books and selling books at 1714 NE Broadway. It has been a pleasure, a challenge, a wild ride, a great deal of fun, and most of all a privilege to be the owner of your neighborhood bookstore.
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| Roberta Dyer, who's retiring, with partners Kim Bissell and Sally McPherson. | |
"I have not done this alone. I have been blessed with an incredible staff and two amazing business partners. Gloria Borg Olds, with whom I opened the store in 1992, staggered with me through some lean years and celebrated some more successful years. We held hands through it all and were fond of saying that a business partnership was like a marriage, only more polite. Sally McPherson, my partner for almost eight years now, came to me as a longtime book industry professional and saved my life. If not for her, I'm sure the store would have closed when the lease was up. She breathed new energy into the business and in the process, became my dear friend. She is without a doubt the best book person I know....
"I am so excited for Sally and Kim's new adventure together! I know there will be some changes made. That makes me happy! Part of the reason the store is still here is that we have changed with the times, and of that I am extremely proud. I look forward to seeing what happens next at Broadway Books! I know you do, too."