Courtesy: CHAT Newsroom.

By Angela Kazmierczak

New independent bookstore well-received

Apr 18, 2023 | 5:32 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – eBooks, streaming services and Amazon Books are the fierce competitors of bookstores that are known to have torn a page into sales.

But one independent bookstore that’s opened here in Medicine Hat tells of another story.

On River Bee Book’s opening week alone, half her inventory was sold.

The general bookstore, located in the downtown core of Medicine Hat at 216 S Railway St., carries a mixture of genres, including hot fiction, biographies, classics and Albertan stories.

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Store founder Bridget Neigum says an independent bookstore in Lethbridge helped her get started, and it’s been on her mind to open a store the last two years.

“We love the downtown core so we knew that this is where we would want to be. We were sort of waiting for the perfect space to host a bookstore, and it fell into our laps last fall,” said Neigum.

Neigum believes the store is well-received because people become immersed in the historic building and also the books.

“I think what people are really appreciating about River Bee is coming into the historic building. Aside from the books, the space itself is inviting and magical and the ceilings are original – so it’s a piece of our own history and I feel like these beautiful buildings can be showcased with businesses of community and connection,” said Neigum.

The support of independent bookstores assures the founder’s choice to enter the book industry.