"The people who come in are lovely," Naomi Frisch, the owner of Still Out-of-Print, tells PEOPLE
Credit: Naomi Frisch
NEED TO KNOW
- A 77-year-old woman owns a bookstore and works there seven days a week, but she doesn’t get paid
- “I am building it up as a viable business, [but] my dream is for a younger person who loves the book business to come along,” Naomi Frisch tells PEOPLE
- She is the owner of Still Out-of-Print, which opened after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic
A woman opened a bookstore amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and she has worked countless hours and back-to-back days since. However, she doesn't get paid for her efforts.
Naomi Frisch's partner initially owned a bookshop, but it closed down. After their retirement, Frisch, 78, tells PEOPLE that she was left with "a vast quantity of good, secondhand and antiquarian books" that had to be placed in storage.
Dismayed, as she wanted the books to not go to waste, Frisch saw that a range of storefronts were available on Smithdown Road, a historic street in Liverpool, England, and she put a plan in motion to open her own bookstore.
Eventually, she opened a shop, Still Out-of-Print, and has run it herself in the years since. But Frisch doesn't earn money from the bookstore, despite working there seven days a week.
"The shop is holding its own, and I am building it up as a viable business, [but] my dream is for a younger person who loves the book business to come along and add an online sales function that would make this a profitable, wage-paying business," Frisch explains.
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Credit: Naomi Frisch
In the area where Still Out-of-Print is located, Frish says there are other businesses — including a convenience store, a long-established pizza parlor and a vegan shop — that make it a go-to hotspot for people from all walks of life.
"There is a great mix of people, old, young, working, students, professionals, home owners and tenants, which translates into a lot of book-loving people," she says.
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Frish, who originally retired in 2017, is known locally as "the late Naomi." She explains to PEOPLE, "I treasure my mornings with fresh coffee and crossword puzzles. I travel on the bus and just need a deadline to galvanise me."
"Not sure why, but I usually run a bit late for everything. So sack me," she adds, playfully.
Credit: Naomi Frisch
Still, Frish is beloved in her local community, and she shares that love right back with all who step into her bookstore.
"The people who come in are lovely," she says. "Everyone has their own interests and their own story. I've always been interested in people."
Frish also organizes the Liverpool Book Market, which she describes as a "very nice book experience."
There, 10 to 12 local sellers meet twice a month in the city center. The group's next meeting will take place on Friday, March 13, and Saturday, March 14.
Future meet-ups have been set through November for 2026 as well.
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