Gibson’s to Buy Assets of Imagination Village

More changes will be coming to Main Street in the very near future.

Imagination Village, the educational toy store on North Main Street, will be closing its doors. But the same products, and more, as well as owner Laura Miller, will be a part of Gibson’s Bookstore, in its new space on South Main Street.

After rumors and published reports about the demise of the toy store surfaced, Michael Herrmann, the owner of Gibson’s, explained last week in the company’s newsletter and a Facebook post about the changes.

Instead of offering similar items and competing with Imagination Village, the two decided to join forces.

During a recent tour of new space, Herrmann spoke about the importance of the store’s children’s section, and how it will be bigger and better than the current store. He said that he and Miller began speaking about the idea back in November 2012. Herrmann said the combination “fit perfectly” with what a bookstore does. 

This is the second time that Herrmann has brought in another downtown interest into his expanded bookstore concept. True Brew Barista recently agreed to open a second café inside the new store. 

In previous stories, including a press conference calling for higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans, Miller spoke about the difficulty keeping her business afloat. She was also reportedly considering expanding her store into the vacant space next door, which has been empty for a number of years.

The newly expanded Gibson’s, on the ground floor of The Duprey Companies latest building, will open this summer.