Anastacia Galloway Reed and Kevin Reed are the new owners of Macdonald Bookshop, which opened in 1928 and since then has "been a place for locals and visitors alike to browse and find treasures" in downtown Estes Park, Colo., the Trail Gazette reported. The Reeds purchased the bookshop from Paula Steige, granddaughter of the founders, who has been running the business since the early 1970s.
"Until about a year ago, I wasn't ready to sell," Steige said. "But in the summer of 2019, all of a sudden I was totally ready to be out. When you have reached 84 years old, almost 85, it's past time.... Recently, because of our magnificent Estes Valley Library and services like Amazon, we have seen fewer local patrons because they have an alternative.... [Tourists] return just to see what is new. They come back year after year. People who were Cheley campers come back when their children are Cheley campers. That's been the reason I've kept with it. People come in and say such nice things about the longevity of it."
The Reeds also own nearby Inkwell & Brew, and this "is where history comes full circle," the Trail Gazette wrote, noting that Steige had "built and opened Inkwell & Brew, although at the time, it had a different name: Macdonald Papeterie.... Her daughter, Stacia Valley, ran the coffee shop and paper store for 12 years before it changed hands." The Reeds bought that business and opened it as Inkwell & Brew in 2013.
Regarding the new venture, Anastacia Galloway Reed said, "Books have always been an obsession for us. Our house looks like a bookshop. My husband is a writer and he loves to read.... We're a really good team. Kevin has a sense of style. He knows what will sell to a certain demographic. He's the main curator and he knows everything about the coffee. I pay all of the bills.... I love running the businesses. We can really make these businesses sing. They complement each other. Some people come into the bookstore looking for a journal. We send them over to Inkwell & Brew."
Although no major changes are planned for Macdonald Bookshop, Reed wants to make some additions, including a children's reading program, story hours and more author events when the Covid-19 pandemic ends.