A year ago, I left a comfortable career for something with more uncertainty and, I hoped, more meaning. It wasn’t a grand plan or a midlife revelation. It was the quiet but persistent pull to create something that makes people happy.
That feeling has always been what bookstores meant to me. They’re the happiest kind of retail experience. If you find what you came in for, that’s great. But even if you don’t, you still walk out feeling like it was time well spent. They’re spaces that reward curiosity and invite you to linger.
I love all kinds of bookstores — used, new, quiet, bustling, perfectly organized or comfortably chaotic. Each one has a distinct personality, and together they form something larger: a community built around ideas and imagination.
Bird’s Bookstore, our new shop at Preston Road and Royal Lane, began with the question, what would our ideal version of that look like in Dallas? My wife, Emily, and I knew we wanted a space that felt unlike anything else here. With the help of our designers, Mary Lu Quick and Mary Bryan of MMAISON Interiors, we built a store that feels warm, intentional, and in some ways, surprising. We wanted people to walk through the door and think, I didn’t know this kind of place could exist in Texas.
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The design is only half of it. The other half is our team — an exceptional group of booksellers who bring as much taste, heart and charm to the table as they do expertise. Our shelves are stocked with a balance of literary staples and unexpected discoveries, paired with a selection of non-book sideline items that Emily curates. These pieces — candles, stationery, hard-to-find magazines, ceramics, even toys — round out the experience. They’re beautiful, useful and a little bit whimsical, which is exactly how we want Bird’s to feel.
Plenty of people told me I was crazy for opening a bookstore in this economy. I understand the skepticism. Small bookstores aren’t supposed to make it these days. It’s true that certain conglomerates make it difficult to compete on price. But retail isn’t just about price, it’s about the experience. The sense of place that can’t be replicated on a screen. When we found our spot in Preston Royal, I couldn’t believe there wasn’t already a bookstore here. The neighborhood felt ready for it. And as it turns out, it was.
Since opening, the response has been overwhelming in the best possible way. Watching people walk in, pause, and smile as they take it all in has been the most fulfilling part of this entire journey. That reaction fills my cup 10 times more than I imagined it would. A month into opening, I already have a hundred small stories about the store. The hurdles, the surprises, the wins, and the strangers who’ve become regulars. Each one reminds me why we did this.
Success for us isn’t measured by numbers alone. Of course, we track the business side closely, but our real measure of health is happiness — our team’s, our customers’, and our own. If someone walks out the door with a smile, if our space makes their day a little better, that’s success.
At the time of writing this, we’re 10 days away from welcoming our first child, a baby girl. She’s already the center of our world, and I can’t think of a better backdrop for her early years than this store. She’ll grow up surrounded by stories, warmth and community.
Building Bird’s has been the most rewarding challenge I’ve ever taken on. It’s a love letter to books, to design, and to the people who make Dallas feel like home.
Drew Dawson is the co-owner of Bird’s Bookstore. Prior to opening the store, he worked in private equity.