Sometimes, the stars just align the right way.
Anthony Randall grew up in Port Dover, loving the community, but moved away for school.
Life happens, taking him down roads away from the Lakeside town, but he always held a special spot for his time here.
During the journey, he met his eventual wife Robyn York, with one thing that really connected them together being their passion for books.
Robyn herself publishes books and loves independent books and the stories they tell.
Now, this Saturday, they get to open up a the Beach Reads Bookshop on St. George Street in Anthony’s hometown of Port Dover.
This journey to opening up a store started year ago, when Norfolk County lost an important store in Simcoe.
That used book store was going to operate out of a property they had in Renton, but zoning became an issue.
So, they set their targets elsewhere and the idea got bigger.
They said when you travel around, a lot of the towns identity is linked to their local bookstore and they wanted to be “that” store in Port Dover.
Their store actually sits a street directly behind Lighthouse Theatre – a location that has always been eyed up by the couple for years when those stars aligned once again.
The store’s grand opening is this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. where the first 25 customers get a prize.
Customers 26 and onward can still win something too, while also helping the new bookstore evolve.
They are hoping to really plant their roots in Port Dover and be the place the community goes to when they need something, instead of going online and ordering a large corporation.
On their website right now, they have their books cataloged for what they have in the store and what they can get for you.
They told us the book store is large but they can’t carry everything – but the can likely get almost anything.