Meet the Owner of a Local Bookstore

Tom Vail is the owner of the in downtown Winder. The Gwinnett County resident has owned the local business, which opened under the previous owner in 1976, since 1996. This week, he will celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday, which is today, by reading to students and children wearing his signature, red and white striped hat straight out of the beloved book The Cat in the Hat.

Patch: How did you get into your line of work?

Tom Vail: I spent 20 years in the computer business doing mainframe systems, online banking mostly. And the piece of the banking business I was working in basically went away in the late ’80s and I got laid of a couple times and decided I need to get into a different line of work . I had the opportunity to buy a failing bookstore. The bookstore became available and I bought it cheap and I’ve been in the bookstore business now coming up on 20 years. I had always wanted to go into business for myself.

Patch: What’s the best aspect of your job?

TV: For me, I’m my own boss. I like being my own boss. It’s hard to imagine going back to work for somebody else anymore. I don’t care if it doesn’t make a lot of money. I like the customers, I like the relationship I’ve built up with some of my regular customers, greet them by name when they come in. Nobody gets into the book business to make a lot of money.

Patch: What’s the worst aspect of your job?

TV: Your time is never your own (laughs). You have to work customers’ hours. A lot of my professional type friends can set professional type hours and if you work retail you have to set customer hours. I don’t always have as much family time as I would like but that’s true of any small business.

Patch: What are some of your hobbies outside of work?

TV: I used to play golf. That pretty much has gone away. I do some woodworking. Obviously I read a lot. I do some yard work. I’m the one at home that does what I call the heavy lifting, the landscape stuff, moving dirt, rocks, putting in stepping stones and stuff.

Patch: What is your personal business philosophy?

TV: I want to make customers forever. I want to do the right thing for the customers so that they’ll keep coming back. I don’t necessarily need to make a ton of money on one sale, I just want to maintain the relationship with the customer.

Patch: What are some of your favorite books?

TV: Early Tom Clancy. Hunt for Red October. Red Storm Rising. Lately I’ve been reading southern writers. I like Karen White. I like the stuff that Dana Wildsmith writes. I like some James Patterson.

Patch: What’s the last book you read?

TV: I’m in the middle of a book by Karen White, The Girl on Legare Street. The one I just finished of hers was called The House on Tradd Street. They’re sort of mysteries.