Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Courtesy of Hadley Hiles | The Crow’s Nest
By Hadley Hiles
Local bookstores in Pinellas County had many hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many were forced to shut down. The ones that survived relied on the hard work and determination of their workers and owners to keep them alive.
Back in the Day Books, located at 355 Main St. Dunedin, and Tombolo Books, located at 2153 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg, are two bookstores that were severely impacted by the pandemic.
To stay in business, these bookstores had to adapt and innovate to the “new world,” one where people couldn’t shop in-person due to the lockdown and social distancing.
For Bo Rushing, owner of downtown Dunedin’s Back in the Day Books, owning a bookstore was hard enough, but during the pandemic, he was afraid about losing the business in its infancy.
“My problem was it was right toward the tail end of the tourist season … that is when we make the majority of our money, in October to April,” Rushing said.
Tourist season is very important to small businesses, especially in “snowbird” Florida, because they gain more revenue during the busiest time of the year.
Rushing didn’t realize how fast COVID-19 would force everything to shut down. The store resorted to curbside orders, and when it fully reopened, it required masks for all customers.
“Honestly at this point, I am so thankful to have survived all that. It was a scary time and I just wanted to do the right thing. A lot of my employees were over it, so I wanted to take care of them,” Rushing said.
Rushing believes Back in the Day came out of the pandemic stronger than it was before because now many Dunedin residents have a larger appreciation for small businesses.
The owner of Tombolo Books, Alsace Walentine, opened the St. Petersburg store in December of 2019, just three months before the pandemic hit.
Tombolo Books started as a pop-up bookstore in 2017, but Walentine’s vision for the bookstore was always to create a welcoming space for all ages and backgrounds.
When Walentine saw bookstores in California and New York closing down as the pandemic hit, she decided to close their doors a week before the government required it.
Tombolo shifted to online bookselling to survive, allowing customers to still place orders and have books shipped to their houses. This adaptation gave Tombolo Books much-needed relief and even saw so much success that it allowed the store to hire a bigger staff.
In June 2020, Tombolo was able to slowly turn to appointment shopping where masked customers could come in by appointment only.
“We want to keep everyone safe and if anyone comes in who is extra vulnerable, we want them to feel comfortable,” Valentine said.
Back in the Day Books and Tombolo Books both had hardships during the pandemic, but came out stronger and more successful than they were before and that success continues today.
