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Bookstore dreams do come true
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Dreams do come true
Area woman opens bookstore in Waterford
by Tracy Ouellette
STAFF WRITER
For Kelly Klein, owning a bookstore has been a lifelong dream and when the opportunity arose a couple of months ago to do so, she jumped at it.
“I’ve wanted to open a bookstore since I was a little girl,” Klein said. “I’ve always had a passion for reading and books. My mom and I went to bookstores all the time. It’s a huge passion of mine, something I’ve dreamed about doing.”
While the idea of owning a bookstore may have been lurking in the back corner of her mind for decades, even Klein couldn’t have predicted how quickly that dream would become reality.
“When this space became available, we just decided to do it,” Klein said. “But it’s been crazy, we started on Oct. 1. We’ve only been in the space about six weeks and we’re opening (Nov. 19)!”
With help of her husband, Steve Klein, and her sister, Wendy Harmon, along with other friends and family members, Klein was able to make her dream come true. “We have done 100% of the renovations ourselves,” she said. “Everything from carpentry to electrical. We build the children’s Southern Lakes Bridal Guide_WINTER17_7.25_4.8.pdf 1 12/14/2017 4:15:52 PM
Steve and Kelly Klein (back), owners of Reads by the River Books and Gifts in Waterford, and Kelly’s sister Wendy Harmon worked to get the store ready to open on Nov. 19. The new store is a dream come true for Kelly.
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room, put in new flooring, walls, window coverings … it’s been a lot of work and my husband has been amazing.”
Klein said that beyond fulfilling her dream of owning a bookstore, she wanted to bring something special to the community she calls home.
Kelly has lived in the Waterford area for 23 years and loves the community.
“I’ve lived in Waterford for the last eight years and in Rochester the 15 years before that. The kids all went to the Waterford schools. I wanted to give something back to this community,” she said.
Independent bookstores are few and far between in today’s world of Amazon delivery, but the ones that are around tend to have a loyal customer base.
InkLink Books on the East Troy Village Square is a favorite of locals and attracts visitors from as far as Illinois on a regular basis, according to the owner, Kayleen Rhorer. In fact, Klein said she was a frequent customer at InkLink and the support shown by the independent bookstore community helped her open her own store.
“It’s incredible,” Klein said. “I’ve found the whole independent bookstore community so welcoming and supportive of each other. It’s a really great group of people who share this passion and are keeping independent bookstores alive and well. They’ve been answering my questions, offering advice and sharing things that have really helped. It’s really a great community to be a part of.”
Reads by the River was set to officially open on Nov. 19, to coincide with Waterford’s Christmas in the Village celebration.
“Our plan was to open the following weekend for Small Business Saturday, but I was reminded about Christmas in the Village and great it would be if we were open for that, so the timeline got moved up,” Klein said with a laugh.
“We’re ready and we’ve got something for everyone,” she continued. “Games, puzzles, gifts – literary-themed ones – and other fun things I’ve found along the way. And, of course, books. Fiction, fantasy, nonfiction, coffee table books, kids’ books … lots of books.”
Reads by the River is at 102 E. Main St. in downtown Waterford. Hours of operation are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday from noon to 7 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday until Christmas. After Christmas, the shop will be closed on Sunday.
For more information, find the bookstore on Facebook.
The Kids’ Cottage at Reads by the River contains the bookstore’s children’s collection.
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