CULLMAN, Ala. – A family owned bookstore opened a second location, Branch Books, in Cullman this summer.
Branch Books Owners Robert and Cheryl Kahlstorf opened their first location, in Hartselle, five years ago. The idea for opening the second location came after some of their Hartselle customers told them they were sad a bookstore in Cullman was closing.
“A lot of our readers and customers live in Cullman,” Cheryl Kahlstorf said. “Several of them asked us if we would consider opening a location in Cullman. Since we had many more books than what we could display in Hartselle we decided to go ahead and open one in Cullman as well.”
Kahlstorf said opening a second location was a lot easier than starting the first one.
“We know more of what type of books people are interested in now,” she said. “With the price of everything going up we like to offer people an opportunity to be able to still read at a reasonable price.”
There are Facebook pages for each store where updates and new items are shared.
“People love to bring books in for store credit,” Kahlstorf said. “We thought it would be nice to post pictures of all those books as they come in, so that the customers would always know what came in before we put them on the shelves. People now message us when the pictures are posted and tell us which ones they would like.”
Branch Books sells new and used books with the focus being primarily on used books.
“We also sell DVDs, CDs, audio books, Playaways (audio books for kids), etc.,” shared Kahlstorf. “We have a large amount of homeschool books and books for kids, as well as books for young adults and senior citizens. There is also a signed book section, and a collectible book section for people who want to use books to decorate their homes.”
The Cullman location has been open since the first week of July. It is located at 2038 Pear Drive NW, Suite E, directly behind Fro’z Shaved Ice.
“Follow us on Facebook to see the newest arrivals to each store,” Kahlstorf said.
Copyright 2024 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
