Women in Business: June Wilcox of M Judson Booksellers
June Wilcox didn’t start out with the dream of owning a bookstore, but her M. Judson Booksellers is now a downtown fixture and a hub of community and literary activity.
“The route to the bookstore was not a straight line for sure,” Wilcox says. “My educational background is I have a master's in international business.”
After years away from South Carolina, working around the world, she returned to the U.S. and started an IT consulting business.
“Both of my parents were entrepreneurs, and I do think it's something that sometimes is just in your blood,” she says.
The bookstore came about through connection, which should not be a surprise given its mission now. Wilcox says she knew the women behind “Edible Upcountry” magazine, and in 2014, she joined them to become founding partners of M. Judson Booksellers. Nearing a decade in business, only Wilcox remains as an owner, though one of the founders, author Ashley Warlick, is the store’s buyer.
“I would love to say that I had this long dream of becoming a bookstore owner – that is not the case,” Wilcox says. “I have always loved books and love food. And I loved the vision. I moved to Greenville when I was 3 and was here through high school and then left for college until I came back in 1989, so I was gone for a long time, but this is very much my home. And I knew it was something that Greenville needed, especially once The Open Book closed. There wasn't an independent bookstore downtown and I do think that's a really important part of a thriving community.”
The business has grown and changed – sometimes intentionally and sometimes through circumstance.
“When we originally opened the store, we had a kitchen, and we realized we didn't exactly know how to run a kitchen,” Wilcox says. “We were really just trying to learn retail and how to run a restaurant at the same time, when we realized we couldn't really do both.”
The Chocolate Mousse took over the space for several years before the opportunity came for Wilcox and crew, including chef Teryi Youngblood Musolf, to occupy that space once again and create Camilla Kitchen.
The next chapter includes growing up, literally.
“In addition to the bookstore and the cafe, we took over the fourth floor of our building, which enabled us to expand our event programming,” Wilcox says. “It's our living room. It is the space where we welcome conversation.”
That includes book clubs, author events, meals and much more.
The business also expanded beyond its walls with The Letterbox, a themed, custom book subscription service. It’s all part of the store’s mission of connecting – readers to books, authors to readers, neighbors to neighbors.
From the Archives: How 3 women's interests led to downtown Greenville's specialty bookstore
“The namesake of Mary Camilla Judson, and the impact that she made on Greenville in that forward thinking, that was very much the spirit that we wanted to bring to Greenville. And the people who have formed this place are an incredibly inspirational, strong group of women with just a multitude of talents that inspire me every single day,” Wilcox says.
Learn more at mjudsonbooks.com, camillakitchen.com and lovemyletterbox.com.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Women in Business: June Wilcox of M Judson Booksellers
