New bookstore slated to open in Johnson City
By Annette Bender
Next year Holston members in the northern part of the conference will have a Cokesbury Bookstore that's closer than Knoxville. The second Cokesbury Bookstore within conference boundaries was approved by United Methodist Publishing House's board on Sept. 23 and will open in Johnson City, Tenn., possibly as early as spring 2004, officials recently announced.
The new bookstore will be located in Cherokee United Methodist Church's future facility: the Sun Property, a 77,000-square-foot former retail space located on South Roan Street across from Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site. United Methodist Publishing House was impressed by potential market size in the Tri-Cities area, but also by Cherokee's utilization plan, according to Ed Kowalski, vice president of marketing and sales for the Nashville-based agency.
“In meeting with Rev. [David] Woody and his team several times, I was impressed by their game plan, how they're approaching it, and their potential for community outreach. I became convinced that we should become part of it,” Kowalski said.
Although Holston members in any location can order Cokesbury supplies through the 800-number or Web site, “sometimes they like to browse – to touch it, feel it, smell it,” Kowalski said.
The new bookstore will be the fifth in Tennessee (including one in Cokesbury Center in Knoxville) and the 77th in the country. United Methodist Publishing House has opened two new stores every year for the past three years, Kowalski said. The most recent to open is in Greensboro, N.C. The Rev. J.N. Howard, retired Holston minister, former Wytheville District superintendent, and member of United Methodist Publishing House's board, said the new bookstore was a “coup” for Holston Conference.
“Everybody who says, ‘Hey, I would like a store,' doesn't necessarily get one,” he said. “You need a good base and potential for growth first … It's a good thing for Holston and shows a lot of confidence from the publishing house that this end of Holston will respond well to having a full-line Christian bookstore.”
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