COLUMBIA, S.C. — Local Columbia bookstore Odd Bird Books opened in early February not knowing that an international health crisis was on its way.
While local businesses everywhere are nervous about what may happen, owner Ben Adams is staying optimistic.
“It’s pretty lonely right here right now and I am just kind of a book delivery service for the time being," Adams says via FaceTime, "which I do think is still a vital service right now- but I’m definitely looking forward to the day that we go back to being more of a physical meeting place for people centered around the idea of books.”
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Since the spread of COVID-19, Adams has been toying with his business model and is currently offering curbside service and free delivery.
“To be bright sided about it," Adams says, "I’ve only been open for a month so I was just kind of still making up the a lot of those rules anyways. We didn’t really have a policy for delivery but I was never opposed to it.”
Adams has even set up a cart of free books for those tight on money during this time, “When a lot of these things kind of break down, that’s all we have is our neighbors and each other.”
Adams says his current business is doing well enough to pay the rent and keep the lights on- he hopes to have another grand reopening to celebrate his store when everything is over.