Allison The Bookman was established in 1973 by Gord and Esther Allison. Gord's dream was to have a bookstore that was much better organized than the ones of its time. Over the years, with the help of many from their family, the store has continued on through the generations and has hit its milestone 40th Anniversary with the 3rd Generation stepping in. Allison the Bookman’s mission is "To provide
a pleasant, rewarding experience in a family friendly atmosphere wherein our vast selections of books are the keys that open the doors of imagination, knowledge, and understanding to all who enter." A Little History:
Family has been very important in helping the store values carry on - from their daughter Christine Gauthier (Cramer, Allison) who helped manage under both parents, to the 2nd Generation Bookman, their son Derrick who purchased the store in 2009 from his mother and now to the third generation with Derrick’s daughter, Annette Vander Waal, stepping in as Director. The store expanded to encompass the entire lower level of about 3000 sq/ft in 1986 with a contest being held to name the new room now known as the “Antiquarian Room”. Gord’s knowledge of books was seemingly unparalleled while he was alive as many were always amazed at how well he knew his store and if he had a book – and this is all before computers! Gord taught a gentleman from Iran how to read, he got his grandchildren hooked on many different genres and always helped all his customers where he could, continually noting that the key to helping one customer was to listen to what all your customers have to say about books. Esther took over after Gord passed away in 1995 and with the help of more family continued on in Gord’s traditions. While we may no longer sport the title of having “Canada’s Largest Stock of Used Paperbacks”, our customers are loyal and span generations and that is what keeps us going alongside our old-fashioned customer service and love of books. We challenge the big chains on Customer Service – people continuously tell us they would rather purchase from us because we personalize the experience for them and always make them feel welcome. As the years move forward and staff may change, we will continue to instill in our staff that great value and importance in the customer service area.
