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| Mormon bookstore opens off Liberty Square |
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| News - Business | |||
| Written by Angie Anaya Borgedalen | |||
| Thursday, 26 March 2009 00:00 | |||
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“A historical labor of love” is how proprietor Pete Grigsby III describes his Eden Bookshop just off Liberty Square. “I didn’t buy it to make money. It’s more of a service to people,” Grigsby said about his newly opened store at 118A N. Main St.  The shop, which primarily caters to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, opened in Liberty earlier this month after operating for 10 years along East 47th Street in Kansas City.Grigsby, a former television weather broadcaster for KMBC-TV Channel 9 who now works for the Blue Springs School District, said he purchased the business five years ago. With the soft economy, Grigsby said he wanted to move the store to a better location. He said the original store was difficult to find and by being near the Historic Liberty Jail and with the announcement that a LDS temple will be built in the Shoal Creek area just west of Liberty, the move was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. “There are other LDS bookstores near temples and they do very well,” he said. “And the historic site draws 45,000 to 50,000 visitors a year. It’ll be easy for people to find us.” Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith was held in the Liberty Jail, and it has become a popular tourist attraction at the corner of Main and Mississippi streets, a half block north of his store. In addition to books, the store carries handmade crafts such as jewelry and tiles, T-shirts, gifts, postcards, genealogy materials, DVDs and CDs. A grand opening is planned later. Rich Groves, program manager of Historic Downtown Liberty Inc., said the new store was a welcome addition to the central business district. “I believe their business will be a great asset for downtown Liberty,” Groves said. “It will provide a reason for some of the 50 thousand plus visitors to the Historic Liberty Jail to go at least a half block toward the Square. From there, I hope they will check out the restaurants and other shops.” Jean Warren, owner of James Country Mercantile across the street, said she was looking forward to working with Eden Bookshop. “They seem to be a good fit for our client base, too,” Warren said. “I’ve got tons of information on the history of the Mormons and on Alexander Doniphan, who were very important to the development of Clay County. Hopefully, we can benefit each other.”
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We were sad to see the shop close it's doors further south where we currently live, but admit that this new location will be better for both the shop AND for the neighboring businesses in Liberty Square. As a bookshop owner, Pete Grigsby does MORE than just sell books and music! He brought famous Christian writers, artists and Contemporary Christian singer/songwriters in to the shop to sign books, CD's and artwork, as well as to speak, do concerts, etc. (And he's too modest to say so, but he's actually a very talented singer/songwriter himself!)
We'll miss the shop down here, but hopefully, we'll be living up that way pretty soon!