project of founder and current president Curtis Walker,
who at the time was employed by a local law firm. Because
reading was much more than just a hobby of his,
he decided to use some of his savings to buy an abandoned
restaurant and convert it into a neighborhood
bookstore, mainly selling used books that were donated
and obtained from flea markets. When the doors first
opened, Walker’s wife, Lauren, was the only employee
during the week and Curtis worked weekends. At the
end of the first fiscal year, Walker Books had grossed
$20,000 in sales