On Oct. 23, University of Saskatchewan staple Books Unlimited will be closed by its owner Lyle Fitzgerald.
The store, which has been around for 45 years, has been owned and operated by Fitzgerald for the past 33 years. Over that time, he’s made many memories in his shop, located across the street from campus, and although retirement will offer a big change in his life, he knows which memories he’ll cherish the most.
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“The actual physical work itself, I could care less about,” Fitzgerald said. “But it’s the customers, the students — they made it worthwhile, just talking to them every day.”
His three-decade tenure between Bottomley and Cumberland on College Drive has afforded him many unique interactions unheard of by many business owners.
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“It’s the children of my original customers (coming) here, or even in a few cases (their) grandchildren,” Fitzgerald said with a smile. “They come in and say, ‘Oh, my mom said I should come in here because you had all of the books.’ So it was word of mouth from one generation to the next which has made me successful.”
It’s those close bonds that he’s come to love, when relationships grow to more than that of just an owner and customer.
“The students are just so nice; they say how much they appreciate the store being open, how much I’m able to help them,” Fitzgerald said. “And, if I do have the time, I love to take students around and explain how things work at the university.”