Like much of downtown Hamilton, King Street has seen its fair share of vacant buildings and lacklustre storefronts. So I was happy to see another store opening up that I would potentially see myself regularly popping into. It seems like stores like Julie Gordon’s bookstore -J.H. Gordon Books- is just one of the many places deciding to set up shop on King. Newish stores like Accoutrements, MODify Your Closet have opened on King in the past year or two bringing some new life to the street while fitting in nicely among other established stores that have stood the test of time such as Dennigers Foods of the World, Tundra Leather and least I forget Rock’N Tees -how long has this shop been around for?!
I don’t remember how or when exactly I first stumbled across Julie Gordon’s blog, but I remember being thrilled as I read through it that a neighbourhood bookstore was soon to be opening up on King Street East. Yay!
It is with great perseverance and determination that Julie has finally got her gorgeous bookshop. People don’t often know the behind the scenes work it takes to get a new business up and running in this city; the red tape, renos, permits… the list could go on and on. Now that the wheels are finally in motion and the store is open it seems like all her hard work has paid off and was worth it all in the end -the place looks great!
Kristin (from I Heart Hamilton) and I were in the neighbourhood checking out Apple Berry Café (next door), and being the book lovers that we both are, we couldn’t resist taking a peak in. Everything is beautifully arranged with a refined curatorial selection of choice books from History, to Sci-Fi to classics and even rare antique books. Julie mentioned in the next little while that she would be expanding her collection of Graphic Novels, which I was super excited about. In the mean time I picked up a few books myself for some summer reading, and made a mental note that the selection was fabulously ripe for future gift buying for all those book lovers in my life too.
Julie is as passionate about literature as she is about Hamilton. As a result she has already started to build a community of likeminded literary enthusiasts that frequent the shop for different bookish occasions. Stop by her store some time to chat books with Julie or to see what types of literary events she has in store for the neighbourhood.
Welcome to King Street Julie!
You can check out Kristin’s blog post about our mini tour of King St. here.
*J.H. Gordon Books, 314 King St. East, 905.522,1862