After the pandemic, Ann Murphy, the owner of Wyrd Bookstore, felt even her most bookish neighbors had enjoyed more their fill of alone time. That’s when things got “Wyrd” (pronounced WEE-urd) in Edgewater, Maryland, an Old English concept that individuals have the power to shape their own destinies. “It was the perfect name, because I wanted to chart a new course,” Murphy says.
I had always read to my kids and gifted books to friends. Books offer shared humanity. Whether it’s a spicy romance, a great escape, or a memoir, they are vessels of the human experience.
Creating a bookstore where neighbors could come together and families could grow reading together was a natural step for Murphy. The café quickly followed. Because, as everyone knows, a warm, cozy drink goes perfectly with a book. And while the satisfaction of creating Wyrd has been immense for Murphy, running a small business is not a put-your-feet-up kind of endeavor.
“In our current business landscape, small businesses face a chicken and the egg situation. Money is needed to invest and grow, but growth is required to obtain the money to invest, and the timeframe to turn a profit short,” she says. “My goal is to grow Wyrd into a beautiful beacon of how a business can succeed by putting people and values first.”
While receiving a BGE Energizing Small Business Grant initially stunned Murphy -in a good way -her surprise was followed quickly by joy, and then relief. “How incredibly lucky to be granted such a wonderful opportunity and at just the moment we needed it most! The stress and worry as a new small business becomes second nature, and the amount of worry it took off my shoulders was significant.”
The impact of BGE’s funding goes beyond financial stability; it helps sustain a community brought together by books.
