Jackson Free Press

As one of the only bookstores in Rankin County, Bay Window Books in Brandon has a big responsibility, and one that owner Suzanne Hatch says she takes seriously.

"There's such a need for books," she says. "Our primary inventory is used so that we can cut the cost in half. ... I don't have the room for one of everything, so I make it easy for my customers—if we don't carry it, we'll get it, most often at a used price."

Hatch says it's important to her that Bay Window is not only a business but also a positive force for the community. She works with teachers to stock affordable copies of required reading materials, and each month, she hosts book signings to promote Mississippi authors.

Bay Window hasn't always been located in the Jackson metro area, though. Before moving to Mississippi, Hatch lived with her husband, Allen, in York, Pa. They opened the store there in April 2009 when his health made it impossible to continue his career as an insurance auditor.

After a 28-year battle, Allen died of cancer in 2011, and Hatch decided she would sell the business. Eight groups were interested in purchasing it but couldn't come up with the finances.

"In the meantime, I fell in love with it," she says. "I had been laid off from my position and had the opportunity to spend the last month having coffee with (Allen) there in the mornings but also to get to know the store, to get to know the customers, and to realize that this was really a blessing and something that I was enjoying."

Instead of selling, she decided to run the store herself. The connection to Mississippi came when she drove down to help a family move to Pearl. Hatch had befriended the mother, Jennie Carter, who volunteered at the store, and wanted to help get the children signed up for classes.

But as Hatch exited the interstate onto Highway 80, a feeling washed over her, and she knew she was home, she says. After returning to Pennsylvania, Hatch says she argued with God about the idea of moving Bay Window Books across the country.

"But in August 2012, we had two 28-foot carrier trailers loaded by volunteers up there to make the journey down here," she says. She opened Bay Window in Pearl in January 2013 and moved the store to its current location at 151 W. Government St. in Brandon on March 2, 2015.

"It was absolutely petrifying, but I knew that it was (God's) will that I do this," Hatch says. "I knew, and I still know, that this is where I'm supposed to be."

Hatch has two daughters, Kimberly and Jennifer.