(Heather Mills at Read Me A Story)
With retailers hurting as shoppers spend less, one Anacortes retailer is planning a major expansion less than five years after opening its doors.
When Heather Miller opened Read Me A Story in May of 2004, she conceived a small children’s bookstore. She carried a few toys and games for kids. But, as her business grew, it was the toys and games that sold better than books.
Now, Read Me A Story is considered the town’s toy store.
The store, located on Commercial Ave. has had a good 2008. Miller says sales was up about 10% until the December storms.
Miller is now planning to move the store to a new space in downtown Anacortes, space she says is twice the size of her current store. It will in a location currently held by Anacortes Interiors, on 9th Ave., just west of Commercial.
And, she’s excited about the move. “We have never had good walk-in foot traffic with plenty of parking.” And, she’s hopeful she’ll get some of the boating crowd as customers. Miller says she had hoped to bring tourists in, but her tourist numbers remain low.
Miller says her customers are locals. Lots of grandparents, she says, who come in to get gifts for their grandkids. And, visitors who have family here. Mills considers Read Me A Story the local toy store. Or, as she says “We’re the Kids Birthday Store.”
Miller was in real estate when she opened Read Me A Story and completely quit that work in the last couple of years.
Read Me A Story will move next month. She’s calling March her overlap month. She is planning on doing the renovations at the new location during the first half of the month, with a complete move-in during the last half. She’s hoping to be closed only a day or two, then open her new store on April 1.