KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tuesday, customers will be able to browse the shelves of Rainy Day Books in Fairway, Kansas, for the first time since March 2020.
Stay-at-home orders in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus forced the bookstore to close temporarily. For about the last year, Rainy Day only offered curbside pickup for orders made online or over the phone. New guidance from the CDC, and adopted by Kansas, made store owner Vivien Jennings feel comfortable allowing customers back inside.
“We were waiting, we were just looking forward to it so much and our customers were asking all the time, ‘When are we going to be able to come inside and look around?’” Jennings said.
Across the country book sales rose 8 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. Jennings believes people turned to books during the pandemic for an escape, to learn something new, or as a way to spend time with their children.
“If you want adventure, if you want history, if you want to just laugh — it’s all there,” she said.
When customers enter the store, they’ll notice new bookshelves, carpet, and plenty of newly released books. Jennings said publishers have started releasing titles they held during 2020.
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We've created a Facebook group, We're Open Kansas City, where members of the community can post businesses serving their community.
