Burke's Book Store

Burke's Book Store, which has survived the depression and two World Wars, was begun in 1875 as a family business and stayed that way for 3 generations. Walter Burke Sr. gave birth to Burke's Book Store on Main Street shortly after the Civil War, selling books, newspapers, slates, tin toys, and then, beginning in 1946, public and parochial school textbooks. Bill Burke, who was born above the bookstore, followed in his father's footsteps and, in 1950, began selling used and antiquarian books.

In the sixties, during that great urban purge known as Urban Renewal, Burke's moved eastward to 634 Poplar, in among the pawnshops, and the original Main St. building and surrounding neighborhood was razed.

In the 1970s, after the death of Bill Burke, Burke's Book Store was sold to Diana Crump. She, in turn, sold it to Harriette Beeson in the mid 80s. Harriette moved the store in 1988 to its third location at 1719 Poplar.

In 2000, husband and wife, Corey and Cheryl Mesler, who met in the store, and after working there for over a decade, bought Burke's. In 2007, the Meslers made the decision to sell the property at 1719 Poplar and move the store to its fourth (and hopefully final!) location in the hip and vibrant Cooper-Young neighborhood.

The store has expanded and changed over the years, and now encompasses "the best of the old, the latest of the new, and hard to find collectibles." In the last two years since the move, Burke's has expanded its used book selection to become one of the best in the city (Memphis Flyer's Best Used Book Store, 10 years running), and most recently stepping into the online bookselling arena to offer our wares to the world.

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