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Book No Further opens at 16 West Marketplace in downtown Roanoke.
Dan Smith
Doloris Vest: “When I walked in here, so much fell into place.”
When Doloris Vest met a friend for lunch at 16 West Marketplace in downtown Roanoke a few months ago, the light went on. This would be the site of her new bookstore, Book No Further.
The store, the first of its kind to open downtown since the closing of Cantos several years ago, was expected to open the third week of October.
What she saw on entering 16 West was a newly vacated 600-square-foot space just inside the front door, a large open area that would be great for events, a popular coffee shop and a bar and restaurant. She also discovered management that was extremely supportive.
“My husband (Craig Coker, an environmental engineer) and I thought we would open sometime next year, but we decided to go now,” Vest says.
They had already traveled the east coast (mostly with his job), visiting independent sites and getting good advice. Vest decided to open a store featuring both new and used books with a concentration on local writers, an area of strength in the Roanoke Valley.
They decided Coker would handle the financial books and Vest would take care of the for-sale books. Vest, 55, is a former professional communicator (news reporter and PR specialist) who has always been an inveterate reader.
The space at 16 West was especially appealing, she says. “It will be good for events and the coffee shop being so close is appealing. I didn’t want to run a coffee shop.” The bar “has an ABC license for the space,” which would be appealing for evening events. “When I walked in here, so much just fell into place.
Book No Further’s web page is booknofurther.com.
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