Congratulations to Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville, N.C., which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. Allison Lee, co-owner of the bookshop with Jo Gilley, told the Smoky Mountain News that she "can't help but be thankful for the countless customers that look to the business as something of importance--economically, academically, and intrinsically."
"Ten years is a long time in this day and age, in this economy, with technology and online purchasing," Lee said. "It's a long time for a Main Street business--and we're proud of that."
Prior to owning Blue Ridge Books, Lee worked at a women's bookstore in Durham during graduate school, and later at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, experiences that helped her to see "the importance of what she and Gilley do, each and every day."
"I remember working in Raleigh when the first big box stores arrived. How do you stay in business when you have these big box bookstores? Well, you focus on what you do, and what you do well," Lee said. "[With Amazon], it is what it is, and people are going to make decisions on the priorities they have, and to the ability that you are able to buy within your community is so very helpful. Amazon can track your purchases and try to suggest things by some algorithm, but it's never going to be like somebody that knows you. We have customers where over the years I'd help choose their Christmas gifts for their grandchildren, and it's because I've known their family for years."
Asked about what her hopes for the next decade are, Lee replied: "We love coming to work, we really do. It's about being led by your love of books, trying to respond the best you can to your customers, and knowing who your customers are--what they want, what they need, and how to be involved in the community."