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When Laura Lewis walked into the What's New Shop to do some holiday shopping in December 2023, she had no plans to buy a bookstore business.
But that's exactly what happened!
The previous owner, Janice Clere, had just put the 40-year-old business up for sale to retire. Coincidentally, Laura had left her office career of over 20 years. She was ready for something new but had not considered a retail store until she walked in to the What’s New Shop on that fateful day.
Now, almost 18 months later, Laura is pleased that the circumstances led to her owning the venerable shop in downtown Denton.
Primarily a Christian bookstore, the shop offers CDs, DVDs, cards for every occasion, jewelry, candy, toys, home decor and more. The shop sells religious themed merchandise that is hard to find in typical retail. They even have Christian based Romance novels. There are books by several local authors, and Laura hosts regular book signings for them.
The shoppers are the faithful from all over the Eastern Shore. "Christian bookstores are becoming rare, so people come from all over to visit us," says Laura's husband Frank.
Laura and her husband Frank have kept up all the usual services in the shop that people have come to rely on: bill pay, faxing, money orders, and copying. They offer unique, hard to find services like Bible bookbinding and Bible imprinting.
Remaining part of the downtown neighborhood is important. Laura says people sometimes come by just to talk or get help making a phone call. "We have an 80-year-old man who comes by when he needs help with utility service. We called and got someone to go out to his home to help him."
What's New Shop, at the corner of Market and 2nd Street downtown Denton, is open Monday through Saturday. Stop by, and you will always be greeted with a smile and a helping hand.
