Katy Budget Books, Houston, Tex., "has withstood the test of time--staying open for more than 30 years while other independent bookstores closed," the Chronicle noted in a profile of owner Tamra Doré, who "stumbled onto Katy Budget Books in 1983 and two weeks later quit her accounting job to buy the business."
"You can't get better than dealing with books all day," said Doré, who was a CPA on a visit to a client in Katy when she first saw the bookshop. "Of course, I stopped into visit. I was book-crazy. I have been for all of my life." She told the owner: "You're doing what I've always dreamt of doing one day. If you ever decide you don't want to do it anymore, I would appreciate you giving me a call." Two weeks later, an offer came.
"The bookstore didn't even have a sign up," Doré recalled. "All they had was a bunch of books. It was a pretty big leap of faith. I quit a job making decent money to open a book store that grossed $4 a day." More than three decades later, she said, "It's wonderful. You can't get better than dealing with books all day."
