Browseabout Books is Susan Kehoe’s passion project

Susan Kehoe grew up in southwest Virginia, and received her bachelor’s degree at Virginia Tech, a school known for its engineering programs.

As Susan jokingly notes, “Who goes to Virginia Tech to get a degree in English?” After graduation, she worked in an off-campus bookstore and eventually became a buyer for the store. With few options for upward mobility in the area, she moved to northern Virginia, where she took a position as a sales rep for 60 different publishing companies. As part of her sales territory, she met Steve and Barbara Crane, the previous owners of Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach. One day Steve told her they had no family members interested in taking over their business and wondered if she could see herself owning a bookstore. Believing it was a great opportunity, Susan moved to the area and began working there as a manager in 2005. Shortly after the store celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2015, Susan assumed the role of managing partner. In 2020, she and her husband finalized the purchase of the store.

“I wake up every day looking forward to coming into the store,” she said.

Susan is very proud of the partnerships she has cultivated over the years. Browseabout has provided financial support as well as hosted events for the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild. The work she has done with the History Book Festival is also very important to Susan. Browseabout has supported the festival as the official bookseller, in addition to her being a board member and providing financial support. The store has been able to bring a number of nationally known authors to the area including Erik Larson, Jodi Picoult and Doris Kearns Goodwin, to name a few. The festival has also created a partnership with the Lewes Public Library, where the festival has co-hosted about 40 events just this year, almost all of which have been free to attend. 

Susan noted that margins on selling books are very low. In fact, Amazon often sells books at prices lower than what Browseabout can buy them for. She gives credit to Steve and Barbara Crane for being very forward thinking and diversifying what they sell in the store, enhancing the store’s sustainability. With Barnes & Noble having opened recently in the outlets, Susan thought long and hard with her staff about what they would do to respond. In the end, they decided to maintain their focus on what they do well, and do more of it.

“We’re going to continue to focus on customer service and being involved in supporting our community. We have such wonderful people working here, many of whom have worked here for more than 10 years. Our amazing management team and floor staff are the ones who have created our reputation for outstanding customer service.” 

What is it about a bookstore that seems to magically draw people through its doors? Susan believes there are two reasons why that happens. 1. There are endless possibilities in a bookstore. With more than 2 million books published every year, when you come into the store looking for a book, you never know what you’re going to find. 2. Books help to create little communities. When you’re browsing about for a book, you often connect with like-minded people who share your same interests in books or authors. 

“With people spending so much time on their phones and becoming more isolated, a bookstore brings people together and connects them with other people who share common interests,” Susan said. 

When asked about what advice she would give her 18-year-old self, Susan would tell her to worry less and enjoy the journey. Because she was the first in her family to go to college, she didn’t have examples of what she might want to do career-wise with her life.

“Just have faith that you’re going to find your way. It was a winding road to get here, but I feel like this is what I was meant to do with my life.”

Susan added that her journey provided her with many opportunities to create support systems along the way, especially her husband who believed in her dreams.

“Who else would have thought that my dream of buying a retail store in the middle of COVID was a good idea?” she said.

One of the things Susan values most about Browseabout is that it has become a tradition for so many families who live here and come to the beach.

“We have people coming to our store who are second- and third-generation members of their families shopping at Browseabout,” she said. “In fact, some visitors stop at Browseabout before making it to the beach.”

And for people who don’t have that family connection with the store, Susan says now is as good a time as ever to start that tradition.