One of the takeaways from the COVID-19 “shelter in place” mandatory lifestyle is that it’s a great time to read a good book.
That’s keeping the cash register ringing at Chamblin’s Bookmine at 4551 Roosevelt Blvd, according to WJCT News partner the Jacksonville Daily Record. It’s temporarily closed to customers who want to browse the stacks, so Ron Chamblin and a small staff are operating a virtual bookstore.
Downtown at 215 N. Laura St., Chamblin’s Uptown bookstore and cafe is closed.
“We’re sequestered at Roosevelt. We were selling out the door with curbside pickup, but we stopped that when the shelter in place started. We had to close Downtown,” Chamblin said.
He temporarily sent home about 18 members of his 23-person staff. Orders are taken online, through the store’s Facebook page and by telephone, then shipped or hand-delivered, sometimes by Chamblin on his motorcycle.
“We’re doing 20% to 50% of our normal sales, but the overhead is low, other than payroll, and my electricity bill is lower,” Chamblin said.
He’s working with his lenders for short-term extensions on his loans and said he’ll probably have to dip into savings to pay the bills.
Read the rest of this story at JaxDailyRecord.com.
