Bookie's 2020-11-02 001_web
Local News

Bookie’s is back after precautionary closure last week

 

Bookie’s New and Used Books reopened Friday, Oct. 30,  after closing down for several days as a precaution when a customer reported testing positive for COVID-19. The store is the latest in a number of local businesses that have had to deal with virus exposure.

Bookie’s New and Used Books on Ridge Road in downtown Homewood reopened Friday after being closed for a few days to ensure staff members had all tested negative for COVID-19. (Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)

Owner Keith Lewis announced on Oct. 26 the steps he planned to take after learning of the customer’s diagnosis. He said the customer and all staff were masked during all interactions, and employees were not experiencing symptoms, but he closed the store and asked all three staff members to be tested. 

He pledged to remain closed until all three received negative test results. All the results were available Thursday, and the news was good.

Lewis said when he learned of the customer’s diagnosis he thought through what the best response would be. 

“We’ve been pretty safe in how we’ve been doing things,” he said. “But I thought, if I were somebody shopping at a store I would want people to take care of me.”

Lewis posted several times over the past few days on the store’s Facebook page, keeping customers informed about the steps he was taking, including a deep cleaning and disinfection of the store. 

The response from customers was overwhelmingly positive. People thanked him for his cautious approach and for taking their health seriously.

For example, Jeanne Genis posted, “Thank you for taking the health of everyone that was in the store and the health of our community so seriously. I hope the customer gets well quickly and employees and other customers all remain healthy.”

Lewis said he appreciated the response.

“People are grateful we’re being open about everything. An important part of being part of the community is keeping people safe,” Lewis said. “They rely on you for the truth.” 

Lewis is not alone in his choice to be transparent about brushes with the virus that reached pandemic status in March and has held the world in its grip since.  

Lassen’s Grill, Twisted Q and GoodSpeed Cycles are among local businesses that have had staff members contract COVID-19. In each case, the business notified customers through social media pages and outlined the response they planned, in some cases providing updates along the way.

In each case, the comments posted were almost uniformly positive and supportive, thanking the business owners for their transparency and care. 

But the shutdowns are costly, especially at a time when many small businesses are struggling to survive the economic disruptions of the pandemic. 

Lewis announced last week that Bookie’s would be doing a fundraiser over the next couple of weeks to help keep the doors open. Bookie’s apparel items will feature three designs created by Chicago artists, and one was a Homewood-themed collaborative effort between Kevin Cannon and local artists Marc Alan Fishman and Matt Wright of Unshaven Comics.

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