When Kathy Simoneaux Fortney and her husband Bob Simoneaux moved from New York City to take over the Margaret Alburn Bookseller store in the Parkway Shopping Center over three decades ago, they did not expect they would find their permanent home in Chester County, writes Brian McCullough for the Daily Local News.

Now, as the store that has become a favorite for many book lovers in the area, prepares to open its doors for the last time in July, the owner has taken a walk down memory lane to reminisce about the many good and the few bad things that have occurred over the last thirty-four years.

“I remember when Bob and I bought the store in Parkway,” recalled Fortney in an interview with the Daily Local News, “I couldn’t believe how nice everybody was to us. They were so welcoming and so friendly. They invited us to their homes for dinners and parties and I just thought, ‘we are so lucky, we just moved to the best place on earth.’”

Fortney said that the store’s many twists and turns recall the plot of an Agatha Christie murder mystery. There were good times and hard times. However, Fortney said with the introduction of the Internet and the rise of Amazon, it became more and more difficult to sustain profits and keep the store open.

Now, as no one has approached the couple with a serious offer, they have no other option than to close.

“I’m really sorry this town is going to be without a bookstore, at least for a while. It’s a great town, it deserves one, and I wish I could keep going,” Fortney said. “It’s been a great experience.“

Read the entire interview at the Daily Local News here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of the bookstore here.