Bookshop owners ‘hopeful’ about future as footfall ‘picks up’ after Covid-19 lockdown

With their doors closed and church book stalls and outdoor events cancelled, Covid-19 has had a “huge effect” on Soham Bookshop.

Joy and Richard Dean, owners of the independent business, said that much of their trade would normally come from attending outdoor events across East Anglia.

“They have all stopped because you can’t have large gatherings of people,” said Richard.

Instead, with their shop also closed during lockdown, the couple did their best to adapt to the new normal.

“We opened from the time we could, on June 23, but even then we were just encouraging people to phone and email rather than come in store for safety reasons.

“We carried on like that, doing special orders, until we opened again in the middle of September.”

MORE: ‘Great support’ from locals for independent bookshop during Covid-19 pandemicRichard said that things are slowly improving and that the footfall through the door has been “quite encouraging”. “It’s picking up I think,” said Joy, adding that they used the government’s furlough scheme “because we were so quiet”. The most important thing, they say, is that “people know we’re here and still open.” And how do they feel about the future? “We’re always hopeful!”