By Shavonne Potts
spotts@salisburypost.com
The Literary Bookpost is closing its doors. Fear not, it’s only so that the longtime downtown fixture can move across the street to a bigger place.
Deal Safrit and wife, Sheila Brownlow, own the store and recently partnered with another couple, Bill and Cora Greene.
Safrit said the goal is to be moved into the new location by Friday.
Bill is a banker at Wachovia and Cora works at Rowan Regional Medical Center. The Greenes bought the new building and became business partners with Safrit and Brownlow.
The group along with friends Beth and Glen Dixon and their children spent Sunday painting and moving books by section from the original store at 119 S. Main St. to the new one at 110 S. Main St. The new store sits between Innes Street Drug and Walser Technology Group.
The store is now in its 12th year of operation, Safrit said.
The old store measured about 1,800 square feet and the new space is about 4,600 square feet.
“There’s more seating. We’ll have several designated areas and eventually an outside patio,” Safrit said.
The bookstore has three floors. The bottom floor will be a children’s section. There will also be a space to have author appearances/book signings. The owners hope to add coffee to the mix. They will also have a magazine section at the bookstore.
Not only are the owners painting and stocking shelves, but they are also fixing the alleyway behind the business to house an outdoor patio area. In the future they expect there will be live music emanating from the space.
“We wanted to make it nice for the community,” Bill said.
The building and the other stores on the same block were originally constructed in 1870. The face of the building was redone in 1915.
In 1920, Rack Room Shoes founder, Phil Levinson, began his business out of the same building. The building also held Ruby’s Dresses and Gifts, Bill Greene said.
The renovations included removing the dropped ceiling to reveal the original tin ceiling. Many of other downtown businesses have left the original tin ceiling in place.
“We rediscovered it,” Bill said. The floors are original to the building also.
The Greenes started this endeavor October 2008. They began actively working on the move for six or seven months now.
“Bill always wanted to open a bookstore,” Cora said.