Dana Volkers Phillips, who sold the Bookstore in Pine City, Minn., in January to move closer to her family, has opened Dana's Bookstore at 120 Heritage Blvd. NE, Suite 3, in Isanti. The County Star reported that Volkers Phillips "has filled her shop with an array of books spanning multiple genres, along with puzzles, gourmet snacks, and book-themed gifts." A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on Monday.
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| Dana Volkers Phillips | |
"I feel like every town, no matter how small, needs a Dairy Queen and a bookstore," she said, adding that she had not wanted to just relocate her previous bookshop. "I didn't want to move the Bookstore. It's the only bookstore in Pine County and I felt really bad opening up a store and saying isn't this amazing? Isn't this wonderful? And then three years later taking that away. So I put it up for sale and immediately had a buyer. It was nice to be able to leave it there and then just start over again."
At more than 1,200 square feet, the new store is considerably larger than her former 700-square-foot Pine City location. "It was a little entry and then two rooms. It wasn't one big open area, so this is much different," she noted. "I get to have more books. That's a lot of shelf space, so it'll be really fun filling that.... I think we use the area well. There's a lot of shelf space, but it doesn't feel overwhelming. It doesn't feel claustrophobic."
The goal for Volkers Phillips is to have Dana's Bookstore become a "third space" in Isanti. "I think a bookstore is a gathering place for the community," she said. "A place to meet your friends to talk about books to shop for books to talk to me about books. That's my goal. That this is where you just can gather. You can just gather and be with your friends and hang out."
She also plans to host events throughout the year, including book clubs and book signings: "We did a lot of local author events in Pine City, and we'll do that here too. We already have an Isanti author on the shelves in our mystery section."
The community was so eager for the store to open that while she was still stocking the shelves customers were coming in ready to buy, the County Star wrote. "I was here working, getting things ready so, let's open the doors and see if anyone shows up, and they all showed up," said Volkers Phillips.