"People have to feed their soul as well" - Up close with Chester's newest book shop
Tucked away on Godstall Lane lies a passion project built on nursing careers and a shared love of literature.
Chester's newest independent book shop opened its doors on 5 April, specialising in antiquarian reads with a focus on second-hand literature.
Speaking to Nub News, co-owner Steve Aldous shared the story behind the business, describing the city centre book shop as a creative outlet for the duo.
Co-owners Steve and Gina Aldous both have years of nursing experience, with Gina still in the field and Steve now working in clinical research for bladder cancer trials.
Having always been avid readers, they jumped at the challenge, once an established book store in the Bluecoat Arts Centre needed new owners.
Six months after launching the Liverpool store, they decided to open another - this time in Chester.
Describing his background in literature, Steve told Nub News: "I got an English literature degree when I was younger and then just fell straight into nursing.
"But I missed it all the time.
"We have both always been big readers and it just seemed like something so different from the day job.
"We just wanted something a little less…stressful, probably, is the right word.
"It's definitely a de-stressor from the day job."
Pointing to Chester's varied selection of existing bookshops, the co-owner explained its antiquarian offering provides something slightly different for the city - with each store catering to different reading needs.
He added: "We have people coming in and spending an hour just going through the shelves.
"A city like Chester needs something like that I think.
"We lean towards the antiquarian side. So we move towards older style books that are out of print and people can't get hold of anymore.
"The rarer type of books - that's our speciality."
Promoting culture and community vitality is one of many reasons the duo seek to contribute to the array of independently-run businesses in the city.
"If you don't use these spots, they'll disappear.
"Of course there's a place for new bookshops, but you're not going to keep local businesses thriving and I think that's important.
"Culture is disappearing; without a second-hand bookshop you just lose stuff.
"We can't just all be cafes and restaurants because people have to feed their soul as well.
"Our day jobs look after other people and this partly looks after us, but hopefully it also educates the next generation," The co-owner said.
Steve finds it important to cater to a range of ages, revealing the varied demographic of customers.
He said: "We have as many young people coming in here as we have of my age.
"We have only been in the business for a year, but if I thought that we were only catering to a certain demographic I'd be really upset.
"I'd think, are we doing this for the right reason?
"But certainly in Liverpool we have customers of all backgrounds; I think they like that there's a safe space that they can come to.
"It's a lovely mix."
You can find opening times and more at Aldous Books' website here, or follow them on social media.
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