Star Tribune - March 30, 2012
Photo: Laurie Hertzel, Star Tribune
When Garrison Keillor opened Common Good Books in 2006 in the Blair Arcade on St. Paul's Cathedral Hill, "I just kind of opened it, and walked away," he said Thursday. "But this --" he looked around at the shiny tin ceiling, sunny windows and clean cream walls of the store's new location at 38 S. Snelling Av. "This is a place you could stay at for a long time. I don't know where I'll hang out -- I'll need a desk."
But he promised he'd be more of a presence in the new store. "I need to learn to work the cash register," he mused. "It can't be that hard, can it?"
Keillor took members of the media on a tour of the still-empty store on Thursday, which was also the last day of business for the Blair Arcade location. The "soft" opening of the Snelling Avenue location will be April 9, followed by a festive three-day grand opening in May.
On May 1, Keillor will host a poetry reading at Macalester's Weyerhaeuser Chapel with members of the public choosing poems to read aloud. On May 2, Keillor, Tim Russell and Sue Scott will do a dramatic reading from Keillor's new book, "Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny," in the empty space next door to the bookstore. And on May 3, Keillor will invite members of the public to tell stories at the bookstore. All events begin at 7 p.m.
LAURIE HERTZEL
Keillor took members of the media on a tour of the still-empty store on Thursday, which was also the last day of business for the Blair Arcade location. The "soft" opening of the Snelling Avenue location will be April 9, followed by a festive three-day grand opening in May.
On May 1, Keillor will host a poetry reading at Macalester's Weyerhaeuser Chapel with members of the public choosing poems to read aloud. On May 2, Keillor, Tim Russell and Sue Scott will do a dramatic reading from Keillor's new book, "Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny," in the empty space next door to the bookstore. And on May 3, Keillor will invite members of the public to tell stories at the bookstore. All events begin at 7 p.m.
LAURIE HERTZEL