Bookstore up for sale

    Murphy – A books and gift shop that has been a downtown staple for 20 years is on the market.
    Co-owners Kerry Archer and Anne Silver recently listed the Curiosity Shop Bookstore for sale. The pair have owned the store for four years after purchasing it from founder Linda Ray, who ran the business for 16 years.
    Archer and Silver started talking about selling the store last summer in hopes of spending more time with their respective families. They are asking for $65,000.
    “That price is for everything within the four walls of the store,” Archer said.
    The Curiosity Shop Bookstore is at 46B Valley River Ave., sharing the same building as The Daily Grind & Wine. The store carries books and gift merchandise created by artisans around the world. Tourists regularly visit the shop to buy maps and guides of the area, as well as historical books written by local authors.
    “Local information and resources are a draw for us,” Archer said. “I don’t think we have any competition for that.”
    He said the business has remained profitable during the four years he has co-owned it, with a predictable amount of foot traffic up until late last summer.
    “We found out that many downtown businesses were experiencing a downturn,” Archer said. “No one has any idea why, except that the weather was bad. We had a lot of rain in the fall and through the winter, so
maybe that was part of it. None of us thought it had anything to do with individual stores.”
    On March 27, the same day Gov. Roy Cooper issued a statewide Stay-at-Home Order that took effect three days later due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Archer and Silver closed their bookstore.
    “Downtown suddenly became vacant,” Archer said. “We didn’t see any point for us to be staying at the store all day long when we occasionally had a day when no one came into the store.”
    After lawmakers passed the CARES Act, providing economic relief to workers and businesses, Archer and Silver applied for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan. However, they only received $1,000 in assistance.
    They await word on whether the business will receive additional aid through other financing programs. In the meantime, the owners continue to order books for local residents who want to see the store survive.
    “It’s nice to see people who care about having that store downtown in Murphy, and care about Anne and me,” Archer said.
    For details about buying the bookstore, email Realtor Wayne Peacock at waynepeacock@cbhighcountry.com.