Simona Powell stumbled upon Companion Books in the summer of 2016. Its former owner, Paul Kirkpatrick was preparing for retirement and the store was for sale, so she bought it.
Two years later, and she still has lots of ideas in mind for its future.
Q: WHAT CONVINCED YOU TO BUY THE STORE?
My husband and I are both book lovers, and we’ve been collecting together for many years. Over the years we have managed to put together our own little library at home and have often talked about one day having our own bookstore. I walked into Companion Books in late summer 2016 purely by chance, to discover it was for sale. There were other changes happening in our lives, and the opportunity just seemed to present itself at just the right time. It really seemed just meant to be. And though it was a little sooner than we imagined it might happen and even though neither my husband or I had ever owned a business, we just had to give it a try. I’m sure I would have regretted it had we not at least tried. We also know the Heights well, too, as we bought our first home together just a few blocks from the store.
Q: WHAT DOES THE HEIGHTS MEAN TO YOU?
The Heights is an amazing community! I have had so much support from everyone. Since we’ve purchased the business, many, many people have expressed relief that their local bookstore was not going to close. This is such a vibrant and varied community, and that’s reflected on our shelves. We have an incredible selection of books, from the popular to the very unique. There is truly something for everyone on our shelves.
Q: HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THIS BUSINESS?
It was nice to have Paul (the previous owner) stay on with us for a transition period. It really helped with the steep learning curve that occurred and helped me learn the daily requirements of running a book store.
Q: WHAT PLANS DO YOU HAVE FOR THE FUTURE?
We want to continue to serve this community with the best reading selection possible. I will be looking into holding literary and community-building events in the store in the near future.
