It's a bookstore with class, and with a commitment to the city from which it has arisen ... McNally Robinson Booksellers ranks amongst my top five book stores in Canada. Though my list of book stores is populated by small independent bookstores that offer highly personalized service, for selection McNally Robinson is simply second to NONE ...
Most of our trips into Winnipeg over the last 10 years have ended with a stop at their Grant Park location before heading westward down the highway ... Noahkila, Ms H. and Beetle have ALL loved climbing the spiral stairs and hanging out in the childrens' section. Over the years many tomes in our library have originated in this wonderful Winnipeg based company.
CBC today has reported the heartbreaking news that the company has applied for bankruptcy protection and is closing its Polo Park and Toronto locations (click here for the story) ... while the company will hopefully survive - it is a loss that I for one feel personally. The new Polo Park location has become a favoured stop on Winnipeg trips, and though we will continue to patronize the Grant Park locale, losing locations and watching a fine book store company suffer is just plain hard.
When one of the Harry Potter books was launched amid a HUGE party at McNally Robinson's Grant Park location, we went to Winnipeg and booked a hotel room so we could join in the fun ... but 1:30 am, with the kids in full meltdown, and entry to the store still an hour away, we bailed and headed to our hotel room, carrying two immensely disappointed little people who wanted to frolick in "Hogwarts" like they had been reading about for weeks ...
The next morning we read a story in the Winnipeg Free Press touting the success of the party and how "no child went home disappointed ..." I sent a short email to the writer and noted that we went home disappointed because we simply couldn't wait any longer ...
My email was forwarded to Holly McNally and she replied with an apology. Then a week later a parcel arrived in the mail from McNally Robinson with a PERSONAL apology note from Holly McNally to Noahkila, Ms. H. and Beetle for their disappointment, and three wizard gifts for them as her way of saying "sorry."
Not only did it reveal the character of the people behind this company, it cemented our commitment as family to that Book Seller.
I honestly hope that McNally Robinson can restructure and survive and continue to be the amazing bookstore and company that it is. Trips to Winnipeg just wouldn't be the same without them ...
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