Nissa Bagelman grew up in the book business. In fact, she spent many childhood days at a popular indie bookstore, Reedmor Books, in Center City Philadelphia in the early 90s.
It was the family business. Her great grandfather opened Reedmor in 1928, and he passed it down to generations of Bagelmans.
But when buying books online became commonplace, the Reedmor business suffered. In the early 2000s, the Bagelmans made the difficult decision to close down their stores.
Now, 20+ years later, Reedmor is back ... with a twist.
From the brand new Reedmor Books & Brews in downtown Portsmouth,host Troy Farkas sits down with Nissa to discuss how and why she's reopened the family business in Portmouth, the nitty-gritty of the book business, why it's so difficult for indie bookstores to survive (and why this store will buck the trend), and so much more.
CHAPTERS:
- Reedmor's extensive history (00:00)
- Nissa's work in the publishing industry (02:50)
- Why indie bookstores fail (16:25)
- The motivation for re-opening Reedmor (20:02)
- How Book 'N Bar's end led to Reedmor's rebirth (24:14)
- The chaotic re-opening of Reedmor (28:50)
- The Seacoastonline article that blew up Reedmor (32:16)
- Reedmor's break from traditional bookstores (34:25)
- How the Seacoast has received Reedmor so far (44:00)
- Reedmor's big plans for 2025 (47:15)
- Advice to younger self (53:51)
Nissa Bagelman is the owner of Reedmor Books & Brews, a popular new bookstore located in the former Raleigh Wine Bar in downtown Portsmouth. The great granddaughter of the original founder of Reedmor in Philadelphia, Nissa reopened Reedmor late last year following the closure of Book 'N Bar. A veteran of the publishing industry, Nissa dreamt for years about opening her own indie bookstore.
To stay up-to-date with the latest from Reedmor, give them a follow on Instagram@reedmor_books or visittheir web site.
For future "Seacoast Stories" events, please follow us onour new Eventbrite page.
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RELEVANT LINKS:
- TheSeacoastonline article on Reedmor
- Extensive Reedmor backstory
- The Press Room live podcast
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