Too much risk, not enough profit—-those were what the naysayers told Donna and Donya Craddock when they were looking for investors to open a new African-American bookstore back in 2008. “[Dallas’] Black Images and [Ft. Worth’s] Black Bookworm closed for a reason,” one said. “There’s not any real money to be made in selling books.”
However, the two sisters remain undaunted in the pursuit of their dream, culminating this month with a “Cheers To Seven Years” sale and celebration that have witnessed its growth from a regular niche bookstore into a nerve center for neighborhood groups and a cultural cornerstone for the African-American experience.
In a recent phone interview, co-owner Donna Craddock discussed the family’s motivation behind opening Dock Bookshop, future plans for the business and the intangible rewards that authors and customers give them all in return.
“We didn’t open the book shop to become rich, we opened the book shop because we felt it was needed. I’m not saying it wasn’t hard—-we had no investors and had to use all of our savings to get it open—-but those closings left a void and we felt the need to create another store as a service to the community.”
Do you feel as though Dock Bookshop is meant to replace those previous locations, or to keep the torch lit, so to speak?
“We see the shop as continuing in that legacy. With our first anniversary we honored both of those locations and owners with a presentation and a dinner [Black Images’ Emma Rodgers and Black Bookworm’s Sonia Williams-Babers], as well as Akwete Tyehimba, the co-owner of Dallas’ Pan-African Connection. We just to thank them and show appreciation because we learned so much from them.”
How would you describe Dock Bookshop’s average customer?
“I think they’re either soul-searching or re-discovering black history. There are a lot of people who still appreciate books—–hardbacks, paperbacks, turning the pages. Some books that aren’t available on Kindle and even if they were, those who are doing research can’t write notes in a Kindle or underline things for referencing purposes, you know?”
You’ve featured some very high-profile authors at Dock Bookshop, like LL Cool J, Tyrese, Ilyasah Shabazz and Pam Grier. What was it like to meet and work with them?
“We have been so blessed and favored—-Pam Grier is not only ‘Foxy Brown,’ she’s an animal lover and earthy nature girl, just the coolest person ever! Russell Simmons came in talking about the calming the store’s energy was: He was so comfortable that he stayed even longer than what was scheduled and we ran out of books. All of the authors who’ve come through, including Al Sharpton, congratulated us, remarked about how ‘at home’ they felt in the shop and gave the encouragement to keep going.”
What’s been the one thing that’s surprised you all about running and owning The Dock Bookshop?
“We knew the issues and the concerns in our community, but we didn’t realize that so many would use the Dock as a place to not only read, but to meet and heal. We’re looking into opening another location in the future to expand from a family-owned business into one that creates jobs as well as a resource center for African-American community, because from the first day that we opened, we’ve watched people with different backgrounds, religions and experiences come together, build and connect as mentors, coaches and friends.”
Going forward, what do you hope that customers will take away from browsing or buying from Dock Bookshop?
“We see them as a part of the family and want to contribute to our ancestors and the community with books. We try to expose people to local authors, our history and our culture. It’s all about being inspired, because when people discover that spark, it opens up potential and possiblilities, which is a beautiful thing.”
2 Comments
Cool! Where are they located?
May 25, 2015 at 4:36 amFt. Worth: for some reason, the editors didn’t provide the website and contact info, so I embedded it in the post to click on. 🙂
May 28, 2015 at 11:20 am