Bookstore Is a Labor of Love for Geneva Couple
WDCB’s Gary Zidek visits Geneva-based Harvey’s Tales ahead of Independent Bookstore Day.
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“It’s a conscious choice. What we offer is great customer service, and a lot of our booksellers are very knowledgeable about books. So, we love to talk to the customers when they come in, we make them feel welcomes. We support our community whenever and however we can, so there’s a lot of benefits to a small, locally owned business.” - Harvey’s Tales co-owner Roxanne Osborne talking about customers choosing to shop at a local store rather than Amazon.
Harvey’s Tales’ owners Chuck and Roxanne Osborne
Saturday April 30 is Independent Bookstore Day. Over 800 bookshops across the country will celebrate the occasion with special deals, merchandise and programming. The promotional holiday started in 2013 and has continued on the last Saturday of April since, though the past two years have been different. This year’s Independent Bookstore Day takes place at a time when there’s cautious optimism regarding the future of in-person events.
Harvey’s Tales in downtown Geneva is among the local bookshop participating in Independent Bookstore Day this year. The retailer is owned by Roxanne and Chuck Osborne.
This display table greets customers right when they walk into Harvey’s Tales
“I don’t think we had any (expectations), we didn’t know. We thought the community would support something like this, and they have. It’s been good.” - Harvey’s Tales co-owner Chuck Osborne talking about the leap of faith to jump into this new arena of bookselling after he and his wife retired.
A look at one of the many display cases in Harvey’s Tales
