Heidi Zheng never had plans to run a bookstore. In fact, neither she nor her husband, Peter Hopkins, had any retail experience when they were approached to take over the Dial Bookshop. But still, it was an opportunity they couldn’t pass up. “What a story!” Zheng says. “That’s the thing about people who grow up reading too many books, I simply cannot refuse because it’s such a good story.”
“They met and married in a bookstore, so I don’t need to tell you that they love books,” Gibbons says. “But their personalities really compliment each other in a way that I think makes them good business partners in addition to good life partners. Peter is more precise, methodical, and analytical and really has a handle on the business end of things in a way that Aaron nor I never did. Heidi has a real passion and creativity that will draw readers into the store and towards books they might not find on their own. I can’t wait to see how they improve on the shop in the years to come.”
Another online initiative has been the monthly book club in which subscribers receive a mystery book and then talk about it via Zoom. The surprise aspect, Zheng says, really allows her to give readers something they would not normally read on their own. And the results have been overwhelmingly positive—not only were there more subscribers than books originally ordered, but it’s also become clear from the discussions that readers have loved the books and sought out more works by those authors or similar stories.
