It's an exciting time for book lovers of all ages with the official opening of a new place in the heart of Olde Towne Okotoks.

Yooneek Books opened their doors to welcome the community for the first time on Friday, Sept. 17.

After doing some renovations and design work with a local company, Sean and Rae-Lynne Byerley have opened their new bookstore on 28 McRae Street.

"Families go into the toy store. They're looking around. They come next door to the bookstore. We have a little kids section that we've set up in there, so there's something for everybody," says Sean.

They've called Okotoks home for about a dozen years, and Sean used to be busy with his work in oil and gas manufacturing.

When COVID hit and Sean found himself without a job for the first time in his life due to layoffs, he took some time relaxing and reading books.

"What I found was I'd go and I'd open a book up and I'd read it and I'd finish it. And I’d drive to Calgary and I'd go to chapters or any of the number of bookstores there and find something else, go home, read it, and kind of repeat.

"And for a couple weeks, I was doing that. And that's when I realized we're really missing something here in town that I think can be a benefit to everybody, a benefit to the community. And that's when we thought, you know, a bookstore, let's start looking into it. And here we are."

They have two boys in Grades 8 and 9, and Sean says they're glad that the bookstore has become a family thing for them.

"Kind of just brought a whole new excitement to the family. And just everyone being part of the same thing rather than the usual grind of everybody gets up in the morning and they get ready and my wife goes here and I go here and we're commuting.

"And now it's just kind of, 'OK, we're going to go to the bookstore and just work together. And the kids after school are going to come help us out.' It's been great."

They're open 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday.

 

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