August 23, 2017
Downtown Petoskey is blessed with many unique, and even quirky, shops and businesses. One that stands alone is “our” bookstore, McLean & Eakin. Celebrating 25 years in 2017, national recognition and awards continue to be the trademark of their community strength.
“We’ve sold more of certain major titles this year than any other independent bookstore in the country,” notes Alex who also doubles as the window display designer.
In fact, McLean & Eakin has been voted one of the Top Ten Bookstores in the Country by the Christian Science Monitor; they’ve won the “Pannell Award for the Best Children’s Section and Children’s Programming”; they’ve won the Charles Haslam National Award for Excellence in Bookselling.
But why “our” bookstore? McLean & Eakin is not only a nationally recognized independent bookstore, but they regularly, and without fail, provide an avenue for local authors to sell and sign their books, providing a launching pad for the writer to begin a literary journey into the future.
Not a day goes by that McLean & Eakin isn’t busy. Not only do they have the finest in literature, but also games, cards, gifts, journals, and even phonographs for the vinyl lovers. Their warm textured colors, shelves, downstairs easy chairs, and assorted author posters provide the vaunted relaxation all bookstores strive to find.
The staff is friendly, eager to share their knowledge, and always available for questions. If there is a title that exists that they don’t have in stock, a few clicks on the keyboard, and voila! Found and ordered. Even the most obscure titles find their way through McLean & Eakin portals.
Located at 307 East Lake Street, they sit right next to Roast & Toast coffee shop. Ample street parking is available front and rear, and an entrance off the rear parking area provides easy access few businesses can brag about.
As an aside, this writer was recently at a national writing event with W. Bruce Cameron, author of, “A Dog’s Purpose.” When chatting, I mentioned my hometown of Petoskey, and the first words out of Bruce were, “Oh, yeah. McLean & Eakin is there. What a great bookstore.”
Every town has its history and notoriety, and Petoskey obviously has had its share of famous authors from Catton to Hemingway, and along the way, McLean & Eakin has been able to bind all together into a volume of community pride.
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