Turning the page on stuffy, old bookstores

For businesswoman Andrea Dempster, the determination to make Bookophilia - her popular Hope Road book store, café and lounge - a success, is driven by her personal passion for books and a desire to eventually prove that Jamaicans do read and can be encouraged to read more.

The structural engineer and former corporate executive confessed to having entrepreneurship in her genes. Her grandmother still owns a business in Falmouth. Her parents, of Trinidadian and Jamaican heritage, also initially worked in the corporate world but left to start their own businesses which include a bakery, as well as car rental, furniture and carpet businesses.

So when Dempster decided, in 2007, that the time had come for her to branch out on her own, she got wise advice, support and encouragement from her family.

Dempster was born in Scotland but studied engineering in Atlanta before returning to Jamaica to work in engineering, project management and strategic planning, as well as corporate development. So, she gained great experience along that career path in investigating new business opportunities in New York and London.

"My transition from being a salaried employee to opening my own business did not come about because I was dissatisfied with the work or the remuneration. The time had just come to try my hand at my own business," she said.

This bookstore owner has always loved books and reads an average of two each week. So it was a natural fit for her to open Bookophilia. And in the two and a half years since she has opened the doors of her bookstore, Jamaicans have been taking notice. She has also gained public recognition, including winning this year's UNIA Marcus Garvey Award for Business and the 2010 NCB Nation Builder Award in the category of 'Start Up', which was presented last Tuesday at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel.

painstaking process

The store carries an inventory of thousands of books at any one time - all of which are selected through a painstaking process of review.

"We listen to what our 'guests' want to read, and where there are specific requests we can special-order and deliver those books within a minimum of two days," Dempster said. "We also do a lot of special-orders of business books for local corporations."

"I am really excited about what I do every day and can't wait to come to work in the mornings. I have always wanted to integrate the things I love to do in my work day and now I have the opportunity to do so. Also, I have created a workplace and environment that I like," she continued.

Customers at Bookophilia are referred to as 'guests' and the concept pays off as Dempster and her staff make sure they are comfortable in the space that has been created to replicate the reading cafés in the US and Europe - with lounge chairs, food and drink and free Wi-Fi available - so the 'guests' will stay a while and enjoy their books, undisturbed. Like its counterparts abroad, Bookophilia opens seven days per week and at late hours.