Books Galore, 411 W. Main St., in Festus will close its doors this month, after 25 years in business in southern Jefferson County.
John Gilbert, 57, and his wife, Kendall Gilbert, 56, of De Soto own and operate the store.
They said they plan to shutter it around Dec. 17.
“That’s what we’re shooting for,” John said. “That could shift a couple days either way.”
The Gilberts initially opened Books Galore June 20, 1997, at a spot on Rock Road in De Soto. They later moved it to a space on De Soto Main Street, followed by moves to the Twin City Mall in Crystal City and the Crystal City Plaza. It has been in its current home in Festus for the past 10 years.
The Gilberts said they feel it’s the right time to close the shop, which offers old and new books, DVDs and CDs, games and some other items.
“I just think it’s always been in the back of our minds,” John said. “When you get to 25 years, you start to think about it. We’d considered relocating. But, we decided we’d like to do other stuff.
“Also, we’re empty-nesters. That added to the discussion to end the book store.”
He said a lack of customers was not one of the reasons for the impending closure.
“Sales have been really great,” John said. “So, that’s cool.”
Kendall said she has enjoyed mingling with customers who frequented the shop over the years.
“We’ve made a lot of good friends,” she said. “That part will be hard to leave behind. I’ve also enjoyed working with my husband.”
“Not everyone can say they enjoy working with their spouse,” John joked. “We’ve worked well together.”
John said the book store has become part of his identity.
“We were shopping the other day at another store and one of our customers saw me and said, ‘Hey, it’s John the book man!’ I think that name’s always going to be appropriate.”
John said the store’s location, across the street from the Festus Public Library, turned out to be a nice spot for the business.
“I think a lot of people thought we were crazy moving in across the street from the library,” he said. “But, it’s been good.”
“The librarians have been good sending people here,” Kendall added.
John said Books Galore has worked with other libraries in Jefferson County.
“We’ve collaborated with all the library systems on different events,” he said.
What will become of Books Galore’s remaining inventory is to be determined.
“There’s so much,” John said. “There’s, probably, 50,000 titles. That’s a conservative estimate. Plus, there’s the movies, music and games. Ideally, it would be great if one or multiple people bought all of it.”
The Gilberts intend to keep selling their wares after the store closes.
“For the immediate future, I’ll continue to be selling online,” John said. “We’ve always done some online sales. We just haven’t had much time to devote to online sales.”
To buy merchandise from the store online, go to books-galore.com.
The Gilberts, noting that book shops are getting harder to find, plugged a new one that opened earlier this year in De Soto – Belle’s Book Boutique, 118 S. Main St., in De Soto.
The Gilberts said there are lots of readers in Jefferson County, so book stores are needed in the area.
“I think Jefferson County has more than enough people to support another book store,” John said.
John and Kendall said they have not decided what’s next for them after they close the store.
“We’re going to let the dust settle,” John said. “We’ll keep an online presence on Facebook, so people can keep in touch with us.”
Kendall said she intends to spend more time reading.
“We’ve always been interested in books,” she said. “We have stacks and stacks at home. Now, we’ll have time to read them.”
