[ISL] "Independent book store turns the page"

[rfmcdonald]

The Charlottetown Guardian's Dave Stewart reports that Charlottetown independent book store Bookmark (official site, Yelp), along with its satellite store in Halifax, will survive. After the death of the small chain's owner in 2013, Bookmark went up for sale. It has since been bought by a pair of investors who seem committed to Bookmark's history as an excellent indie bookstore. Here's hoping!

Dan MacDonald has started another chapter in a business legacy that began in Charlottetown 42 years ago.

MacDonald and his wife Marlene recently purchased one of the few remaining independent book stores in Atlantic Canada.

Bookmark Inc. was founded in Charlottetown in 1972 and has been at its present location in the Confederation Court Mall since 1980. The business expanded into Nova Scotia in 1989, opening a location on Spring Garden Road in Halifax.

"Books are a passion of mine,'' Dan MacDonald tells The Guardian. "I'm very excited about it. Owning a book store is something I've thought about for the last 10 to 15 years.''

Dan and Marlene purchased the Bookmark from the estate of Rodney Jones, the store's long-time owner who died more than a year ago.

Gary MacLeod, president of Bookmark Inc., said Jones' daughters, Tarra Drevet and Charla Jones, wanted to ensure that the stores would have continued success in both Charlottetown and Halifax "with a new owner who would have the vision to continue operating both locations with the same passion that Rodney had''.

His daughters issued a statement to the media through the MRSB Group, which handled the sale.

"We are so proud of the business which our father established and built over the last 40 years,'' Drevet and Jones said. "We believe that Dan and Marlene will be able to maintain and grow the business based upon the successful framework established by our father.''

No changes are planned at either location and all staff have been retained.