Community steps up for Drop City Books

There’s nothing like a story about how a community comes together to overcome adversity is there? Stoke on Trent’s City Centre has a very special community of
business owners and none more so that the gang from Piccadilly in the Cultural Quarter.

The story begins with the hugely successful launch of Drop City Books in October 2023, located on the corner of Broad Street, opposite the Potteries Museum and at the foot of Piccadilly. Ruth, founder & owner, says of her beautiful and bright independent bookstore, ‘We're your colourful, radical, inclusive city-centre bookshop where curious people find good books.’ What a delight.
However, on the 8th of April this year, there was a devastating flood after a burst pipe in an upstairs flat caused untold damage. Much of the stock was spoiled as well as there being no ceiling, floor or lights.
Despite feeling sad and overwhelmed, Ruth quickly found she had friends and supporters on the High Street & online. Drop City Books can be accessed online through the much loved, Bookstore.org.uk, which supports local, independent bookshops across the UK, generating over £3.5 million in sales so far. Ruth was able to reach out to her community and ask for their support by buying one or more of her
‘the burst pipe recovery list’ collection. Ruth shared, ‘Bookshop.org is a way of buying from us when we are closed, and we get a percentage of every sale. They’re the online book selling good guys whose mission is to support indie book shops and stick it to Amazon.’



Secondly, Ruth’s local friends and supporters from Piccadilly rallied round to help with the dry out and refurb process. No mean feat as Ruth needed new stock, new
infrastructure, new paint, shelves and new hope. She credits the team from Slamwich, Little Dumpling King, BottleCraft as well as all the other friends who cleaned, cooked and alphabetised through the night. This level of support, when many independent businesses are hugely preoccupied with keeping their own ventures alive and well, is testament to the power of networks & communities to support businesses and high streets to thrive. It should also be said, that Ruth has been inundated with support from her loyal customers, who see the magic of Ruth’s book curation, workshops and author events that create imaginative and impactful experiences for so many.

So what now?
Drop City Books has rather magically reopened in just 3 weeks with fresh paint, a stunning array of books and new hope for both Ruth and her customers. Ruth welcomed a large crowd of well-wishers and shoppers back to the store on Saturday the 27th of April and is looking forward to getting back on track. This story of triumph over adversity is uplifting and a clear sign post to the rest of the city centre, that good comes from community & belief that ‘ultimately it’s going to be ok’ really matters. Like Ruth says, ‘I felt so lucky to be able to open a book shop once, what a ride to be able to do it twice in one year.’