Community Rallies Around Children's Book Store Facing Challenges Due To COVID-19

A local Tulsa bookstore owner was almost forced to close her business due to the pandemic until the community rallied around the store in its 11th hour.

Mindy Smith owns Lavender's Bleu Literacy Market, a children's book store that offers riding material, tutoring and event space.

According to Smith, the pandemic led to a significant loss in traffic, and while she tried offering online opportunities, it was just not the same as operating the store before the pandemic.

Before the pandemic Smith said that she would see people buying books, meeting with a tutor or throwing parties in one of their event rooms, which was a big source of the store's income.

Smith shared a post on the Lavender’s Bleu Facebook page where she detailed that the store was having a hard time staying open and since doing so she has seen a spike in sales.

According to Smith, November ended up being the store's best month financially since the store first opened two years ago.

“To realize how many people we were touching and how many people wanted to help," said Smith. "Tulsa is so supportive of small business and they do want to help and it was the most amazing thing.”

According to Smith, she said she feels optimistic moving forward especially knowing that a COVID-19 vaccine will soon be available.