Unique Pennsylvania Bookstore Offers Books, Music, Sidelines, and Real Cajun Food

With 49,900 square feet of space, over 250,000 books and 60,000 CD and DVD recordings, and a full-service Cajun restaurant in its main store, Chester County Book & Music Company (CCBMC) in West Chester, Pennsylvania, may not give the appearance of a local mom-and-pop store. But, in fact, it is just that. Kathy and Bob Simoneaux are the mom and pop, respectively, of both the West Goshen store, established in 1982, and the 13,000-square-foot Chester County Book Company (CCBS) in Downingtown, established in 1988.

West Chester is the county seat of Chester County and is a scenic bedroom community of Philadelphia. The area, rich in history, is a tourist destination for many in the Northeast, who come to visit Valley Forge and a museum of Andrew Wyeth's works.

The Simoneaux's success is based on many years of hard work, careful planning, strategic moves, and a little luck. CCBMC, which did not carry music until 1996, was originally 1,000 square feet and in a different location. According to longtime staff member Joe Drabyak, in 1996 the store's neighbor in a strip of stores, Rainbow Records, a Delaware-based company, was divesting its Pennsylvania properties. CCBC was leasing space from Rainbow Records at that time, and Kathy and Bob Simoneaux decided to buy out the store, knock down the wall between them, and begin with a fully stocked, ready-made music department. Today, the recordings include a range from pop, rock, rap, and R&B to classical, jazz, blues, country, and world music. The music area also stocks a wide selection of specialty import titles. The DVD inventory features over 2,000 movie and music titles, as well as such specialty items as foreign films, anime, and alternative lifestyle DVDs. The Downingtown store carries books and magazines exclusively.

The demolition of a bowling alley in the strip of stores gave the Simoneaux's the opportunity to expand into that space and increase the size to its current 49,900 square feet. Drabyak told BTW that the store's large selling floor makes it possible to hold many bookfairs on site. "We can designate certain cash registers for the school or organization and a certain percentage of the sales goes to the organizers. The selection of books is so much better than at an off-site sale, and nobody has to lug boxes around. We also have about two author events a week. [Because] we're close enough to Philadelphia and very accessible from Washington and New York, many well-known writers stop here."

The store's Magnolia Grill, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner Cajun-style, is a homage to New Orleans, the hometown of owner Bob Simoneaux. Authentic beignets, gumbo, and jambalaya are representative of the popular eatery's menu. The grill also serves snacks, soft drinks, and coffee.

CCBMC carries a number of sidelines, creating an impressive depth of inventory. "I always wanted to keep people from going to the mall," said Kathy Simoneaux. "We added Godiva Chocolates, an enormous collection of calendars and wonderful cards, and gourmet foods -- cake and cookies mixes. They've done very well for us."

Kathy Simoneaux added, "Bob had always had a dream to own a bookstore. When I met him in the mid '70s he was working in publishing but he really wanted to buy a bookstore. Notice I said 'he' and not 'I' wanted to. It was his dream -- I knew better -- I had been in retail." --Nomi Schwartz