FRONT ROYAL \u2014 Royal Oak Bookshop will celebrate 50 years in business Saturday with an open house from noon to 5 p.m.<\/p>\n
The cozy bookstore located at 207 S. Royal Ave. is packed with 12,073 titles \u2013 and loads of its own history.<\/p>\n
Established in 1975 by Nan Hathaway, the book store started in the red house that currently makes up the northernmost half of the shop.<\/p>\n
Owner Tammy Bolden said that Hathaway used the main level for retail \u2014 carrying a wide selection of titles with a special emphasis on books on the Civil War and all things Virginia \u2014 and used the upstairs of the space for storage.<\/p>\n
For decades, Royal Oak has been the only Front Royal store with such a large collection of books for sale. Its five rooms are packed with children\u2019s books, fiction and nonfiction on any and every topic one might imagine.<\/p>\n
According to a history of the store posted on its website, Royal Oak started as a new book seller and added secondhand books in 1980.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ratio of new to used books gradually changed so that our present inventory is predominately secondhand. We have always had a liberal sprinkling of sale books \u2014 we call them \u2018new books at used book prices\u2019 \u2014 throughout the shop in all categories,\u201d the website reads.<\/p>\n
Complementing the fun of picking a book off the shelf, the Royal Oak staff has long prided itself on customer service, offering special ordering for customers to meet their needs.<\/p>\n
Needing room to expand, Hathaway bought the building next door to the south and, in 1991, added a small section to the rear of that building to connect the two, allowing customers to visit the space without going outside.<\/p>\n
After Hathaway retired, Kevin Seabrook took over the store, managing it for about the last 10 years. Bolden, who started working at Royal Oak in 2003, took the reins in January “because I didn\u2019t want to see it close.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noting that she initially joined the staff as a bookkeeper, shortly after moving to the area, Bolden said the last few years have been tough for the store.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a tough market. It\u2019s really hard,\u201d Bolden said. \u201cIn 2020, when COVID hit, a lot of people got used to buying things online. I\u2019m guilty of that myself. And so that really puts a crunch on us. We do get a lot of tourists because they\u2019re here visiting and they want to walk through a real bookstore. We have quite a few local people who still come in.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said that the store serves many older customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey like to ask us to order books for them because they don\u2019t want to be on the internet. So we try to help them out. We take the books they no longer want and give them store credit so they can get more books,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Bolden noted that entrepreneur Shelly Cook purchased the building a few years ago and has plans to renovate the original bookstore.<\/p>\n
In January, Royal Oak will move into the south side of the shop, Bolden said.<\/p>\n
She said that this fall and winter, the store will work to sell down its inventory to make the move into the smaller space.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s anniversary celebration will include acoustic music on the store\u2019s porch, as well as refreshments and an opportunity to shop and share stories about the retailer.<\/p>\n