12 Comments
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James H.'s avatar

loveeee this interview! it’s such a special space, thank you for bringing me there when i visited philly 🥹🥹

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EJ Johnson's avatar

i’m soooo happy you got to experience it. Gary forever 🥹

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Petya K. Grady's avatar

I loved reading this so much and thank you for putting Lot 49 on my radar. I love the Philadelphia art scene (my husband went to gradschool at Villanova and we both just love the city for art and music... all in that distinct Philly raw, no-nonsense kind of way). It feels like this bookstore really capture that spirit.

Do more bookseller interviews please! I know we are all secretly dreaming of owning our own bookstores some day!

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EJ Johnson's avatar

Omg thank you SO MUCH Petya! I love that you know Philly and have a sense of the gritty city that it is, it's so special to me, and I love when people can connect with that! I agree that Lot 49 embodies the spirit of the city, too.

And that's the goal! I am so lucky that I have two more bookstores in walking distance from my house, so definitely thinking I'll have to see if some more owners will humor me with an interview 😅 Thank you so much for your kind words and for reading – it means a lot 📚💗

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Jo the Smalltown Bookseller's avatar

Really enjoyed this conversation, and so much that resonates with my own experiences of running a bookshop - the learning curve from the beginning is steep!

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EJ Johnson's avatar

I’m so glad to hear it! and yea i cant even imagine— so much respect for diving right in!

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Natalie Kunce's avatar

My dream as I age is to one day own a used bookshop, so I loved reading this a whole lot! Def will stop by Lot 49 if I’m ever in Philly ❣️

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EJ Johnson's avatar

Thank you so much for reading!! and SAME it’s my lifelong dream to own a bookstore, so I was so excited to peek under the hood of one of my favorites! So glad you enjoyed and I hope you get to check it out 📚💗

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Marta Carvalho's avatar

EJ!! What an excellent interview. Please keep em coming! 💗

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EJ Johnson's avatar

Thank you!! so glad you enjoyed 📚✨

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Abra McAndrew's avatar

I loved A Leopard Skin Hat!

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EJ Johnson's avatar

I am loving it SO MUCH so far!! it’s so unique and is inspiring so much deep thought. A delight.

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