Bookmark locations in Atlantic Canada listed for sale

The oldest independent bookstore chain in Atlantic Canada, Bookmark, has been listed for sale following the death of founder and owner Rodney Jones a year ago. Although a sale has yet to go through, Lori Cheverie, manager of the Charlottetown location, says the hope is for both locations – the other is in Halifax – to remain open for business.

“We’re hoping the stores will stay open. That’s the aim. I’ve been at this store for 24 years, and [Halifax manager] Mike Hamm has been at the store there for about 10 or 12 years,” says Cheverie. Together, the two locations employ 14 additional staffers.

The mini-chain was established in Charlottetown in 1972, expanding to Halifax in 1989. With the closure of Frog Hollow Books in 2009, Bookmark is the only remaining independent adult bookstore in Halifax. The stores are listed for sale as a package, with the goal being for both to remain under the same ownership.

Since Jones’s sudden death in January 2013, Hamm and Cheverie have overseen operations, while ownership has transferred to Jones’s immediate family.

Daughter Charla Jones tells the American Booksellers Association that she hopes both stores will continue to be fixtures in the East Coast literary scene. “Without them, there would be a hole in both towns,” she says. “It would be awfully nice to see the spirit continue.”

The sale is being handled by broker Wayne Carew at MRSB Mergers Acquisitions.