Independent Bookstore Keeps Spirit of Reading Alive

Drury Lane Books is the "Bookstore for Book Lovers"

If you’re an avid reader and a lover of books, there’s a tiny shop in Grand Marais that might just be up your alley.

“We don’t just get bestsellers – we do have bestsellers – but we do have a lot of books that people are surprised that we have,” says Lee Stewart, store manager at Drury Lane Books.

Drury Lane opened in 2002, founded by local author Joan Drury.

It’s a store founded on a very clear passion – reading.

“Our tagline is basically ‘Books for book lovers.’ People who find us who are book lovers and people who love to read come back,” Stewart said.

Grand Marais is a quaint town that prides itself on its natural beauty, and attracts many tourists throughout the year.

And Drury Lane Books fits right into its business landscape – a tiny cottage right on Lake Superior that, although small, prides itself on its large hand-selected collection of books.

“I hear just how wonderful the selection is,” says Stewart, explaining that Ms. Drury herself does most of the choosing when it comes to what books are in stock. “The other thing I hear a lot – people will say “Oh! I haven’t seen this book in 20 years! Why do you have this book? And my answer is we feel very strongly about books.”

It’s that selection that store employees and loyal customers say sets this little independent shop apart from their mass-consumer competitors.

“If it’s a good book, and it’s held its own for 20 years or 100 years, it deserves to be in a bookstore, and be available.”

Stewart says working at Drury Lane has allowed her to form personal relationships with some of the customers over the years.

“For me it’s like visiting old friends,” she says. “I look forward to seeing them again. There are children who have been coming here since they were very young. I know their reading tastes. They know me. And we talk about books; we talk about the books that they’ve read through the year.”

And getting lost in conversation is sometimes as easy as getting lost in a good book.

Drury Lane Books is on East Wisconsin Street in Grand Marais.

The store is open Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday each week.

They occasionally offer writing workshops and often host book signings as well.