By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Twenty-nine year old Amanda Hall and her husband recently returned home to Rockford after five years in Arizona. Now she’s about to make a childhood dream a reality. Hall plans to open Page One Bookstore and Café in Rockford’s first LEED building at 123 Courtland, a structure rebuilt after a devastating fire last fall.
The store will offer books for everyone, with a special emphasis on children’s books and events. The 1,900-square-foot main floor features books for adults and teens, a café specializing in soups, sandwiches and espresso, cozy seating areas for reading, a periodicals sections, and what Hall hopes will become a popular gathering space—the children’s area.
“I don’t think there’s anything more fun than realizing that these kids’ lives might be changed because of books they read in my store,” Hall says with enthusiasm. “I can’t wait to see their imaginations take off.”
The 600-square-foot loft level will have more books, a small meeting space for book clubs and other groups, and a second-floor balcony with Cabana fans where patrons can eat, sip coffee, and spend time getting reacquainted with a favorite pastime—reading.
Hall plans to hold author book signings, poetry readings, children’s events, and will carry journals, cards and educational toys and offer wireless Internet access.
“The movement of shopping locally has really come to the forefront and people are realizing how shopping local benefits our economy,” Hall says. “I was raised in Rockford, and as I grew older I found that it’s definitely a family-oriented community and I want to build on that.”
The store opens this fall.
Source: Amanda Hall, Page One Bookstore and Café; Suzette Garvey, Simply Genuine Communications
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Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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