Inside Landmark Booksellers is, unsurprisingly, a book. But rather than being penned by the likes of Louisa May Alcott or Emily Bronte, this one is written by the bookstore itself. Inside the hundreds of pages are handwritten messages like “This lil bookstore makes me so happy every time I’m here – Chicago IL” and “Love is all there is – Franklin.” The pages contain the writing of those visiting from Toledo, Ohio; Seattle, Wash.; Richlands, N.C.; Detroit, Mich.; Fort Worth, Tex.; Sarasota, Fla.; Colombia and hundreds of other locations.
These visitors, from across the country and the world, hoped to make their mark while in Franklin via this book. Twenty years after it opened its doors, Landmark Booksellers still aims to do the same.
Landmark Booksellers in downtown Franklin celebrated its 20th anniversary on July 16 with live music, food and community at a party inside the store and in its parking lot. Books served as centerpieces atop paper tablecloths adorned with questions like, “What is your favorite book?” and “Who’s your favorite character?”
At the center of this celebration were owners Joel and Carolyn Tomlin, who opened Landmark in 2005. After their seven children had left the home, the couple found themselves searching for a new venture to take on together. When Joel found out that one of his favorite bookstores in Nashville was closing, the Tomlins decided to buy the store’s remaining books and launch a new bookstore in Franklin.
“We’ve been big readers, and I’ve collected books all my life, so I jokingly tell people that our owning a bookstore would be like an alcoholic owning a liquor store,” Joel Tomlin explained to the Scene.
They also found what they deemed the perfect place: the oldest commercial building in Franklin, built around 1806 and nestled right in downtown.
“We were very blessed to be able to get this building, we had both admired it for years,” Joel said. “In our front room downstairs have been important American figures such as Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, James K. Polk, so it was an important building early on [and] it has a rich history.”
With a new selection of books and a historic location, the Tomlins still had one major hurdle in their way. 2005 marked a new era of media consumption, where the rise of digital booksellers like Amazon and portable devices like e-readers saw many physical bookstores falling by the wayside. Between 2000 and 2007 alone, more than a thousand bookstores shut their doors across the country.
“We have really strived over the years to create a unique experience here for book lovers and I think that is what has built our business,” Joel said. “We greet every person that comes in our bookstore, that’s something else you don’t get at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Everybody that walks through my door, I welcome them, I ask them where they’re from, and what brought them to the area, and talk to them about different books.”
The Tomlins stress that everybody is welcome into the store---they even have a “Californians Welcome Here” sign to greet one of Franklin’s largest group of transplants that are often met with a less than lukewarm reception.
Landmark has been visited by more and more people from across the country since it became the subject of Brentwood resident Karen Kingsbury’s 2015 novel The Bridge. The Bridge tells the story of two Belmont students who frequent a local bookstore in downtown Franklin called The Bridge, owned by couple Charlie and Donna Barton (based on the Tomlins).
The novel and the Hallmark movie based on it have driven thousands to visit Landmark and see the real-life inspiration for the characters and the story.
“[Kingsbury] came in to see us one day and spent some time in our bookstore, and her publisher called us about four months later and said Karen’s next book is set in your bookstore and you and your wife are two of the main characters,” Joel Tomlin recounted. “Not a day goes by that we don’t have one of her fans come in, literally from around the world, they're all over everywhere, and they come to see The Bridge.”
Kingsbury also played a part in helping the store survive the COVID-19 pandemic, a time where it’s estimated one independent bookstore closed every week. After the City of Franklin went into lockdown and businesses closed, Kingsbury reached out to the Tomlins.
“She said, ‘I’ve got a new book coming out, let’s offer a signed edition on your website.’ And we did, and we sold a quarter of a million dollars worth of books in 30 days. So she is our guardian angel and saved us during that period, without a doubt,” Joel said.
Now five years past the pandemic, Landmark is still going strong. As community members gathered inside the bookstore and in its parking lot for its anniversary celebration, attendees gathered around a scrapbook filled with photos of the Tomlins, their regulars, and memories made in two decades of selling stories.
To Tomlin, the community Landmark has built is its most impressive achievement.
“It's just a very special place, and we're told that every day.”