Shop Talk is an occasional feature in which fledgling independent booksellers take Q&Q into their stores and share their reasons for opening and what business has been like so far.

Saturday Morning
35 Champlain St.
Deep River, Ontario

Salina Vanderhorn had a five-year plan for opening her bookstore in her hometown of Deep River in Eastern Ontario. Eight months later, in April of 2026, Saturday Morning opened.

The brand builder and former art director moved back to her hometown from Toronto during the pandemic and, a couple of years later, while taking a writing course, she realized she wanted to open a bookstore.

In one lesson, the instructor suggested the students visit their local bookstore. “And then she said, ‘If you don’t have a local bookstore, maybe you should open one.’ And my whole body went, ‘Oh s–t. She’s right,’” Vanderhorn says.

So when a retail space became available on Champlain Street in the commercial area of Deep River (about five years too early), Vanderhorn went to see it. “It was truly just an empty box,” she says. But all Vanderhorn could see was potential. “I didn’t expect it to be perfect, but it’s perfect,” she says of the 2,000-square-foot corner unit, formerly a convenience store.

Vanderhorn continues to do freelance brand work while running her store. “Nobody opens a bookstore to be rich,” she says, laughing. 

Why open Saturday Morning in 2026?

Bookstores, for me, have always felt like a place where anything is possible. That might be naive, but it’s what my heart thinks. It feels as though, in books, any world exists, any option, like all the knowledge that could ever solve my problems is right there. 

Bookstores have always felt special to me, but it’s not as if I always wanted to have a bookstore. It feels like it was almost placed in my lap, in that it’s a culmination of a lot of my skills. It just started to all add up: this is very clearly what I need to do. 

In mid-2025, I had moved back in with my sister, and I was like, all right, I need to figure out what’s next because I keep bopping around and my heart isn’t in anything right now. And then I was like, “Okay, Salina, if money were no object, what would you do tomorrow? […] Oh, I think I’d open a bookstore.” The idea behind it was never simply just a bookstore: I wanted a place that felt like community. I wanted a place where I could serve the creative community here in Deep River.

Tell us about the name.

I love to tell people about the name. My favourite part of the name is that it’s truly a feeling, and everyone feels differently about it. The name came to me as I was meditating and just trying to centre myself, not trying to find a name for the bookstore. 

Usually after meditation, I will journal for a bit. I was free-writing to myself that I really missed the feeling of a Saturday morning when I would grab a coffee and wander through bookstores in Toronto. I missed that feeling, and I wanted people in Deep River to know that it can feel so good to just wander through a place full of hope. And then I thought, “Oh, Saturday morning.” It just clicked. I think an hour later I had registered the domains.

How has the community responded to the store?

Oh, so beautifully. Sometimes I feel too lucky. I was immediately blessed with the best staff in the world. I first asked one of my best friends, who is an avid reader, but also a retail pro and an editor. So I was like, “Becky, please, can you help me immediately?” Two other staff members are librarians, and there is one student.

My adult staff are pros in every way. It feels so good to put your best forward into the community; as a team, everyone represents the brand so well. And so I never feel like if I’m not there, something might not go right. 

In terms of the community, I truly don’t even know what to say because I’m overwhelmed. They are so lovely. People really show up with their wallets. They tell me all the time, “I’m so glad you’re here. I don’t want to order from Amazon.”

I have had a customer come to me and say, “I already bought this book. It’s a really popular book. But I want someone who can’t buy it to have it from you. Can I buy it and you just give it to someone who can’t afford to buy it?” There are people who are desperate to give their money not only to the store but also to other readers.

What kind of programming do you run?

We’re doing book clubs, and trying to make them quite niche. One is Horny for Literature – and that is not a romance book club. It’s truly a book club for anyone who wants to read something really well-written, great lit in any form that has good sex in it. It doesn’t have to be a happily ever after. It can be really tense, and there can be a lot of tension and character development, but also really good sex. That book club is very popular.

Another one is Literally Dead, a psychological thriller book club. We don’t keep it just to whodunits. Sometimes it’s more of a literary thriller. Sometimes we cross into horror – anything that feels like it’s within that realm. It really runs the gamut. 

We do a journal club, which is just two hours of a bunch of people hanging and journaling together.

We’re also doing pop-up book clubs for really topical, hot titles. We did one for Yesteryear when everyone wanted to talk about Caro Claire Burke’s novel. People come into the store, and they gush to us: “Oh my God, I just read this; have you read it? I need to talk about it. Is there someone who I can talk to about it?” So we started doing these pop-up book clubs when people are really excited about particular books.

What has been the most surprising or unexpected part about opening a bookstore?

Booksellers and bookstore owners are so incredible. We’re all so supportive of one another. The rising tide lifts all boats thing is very real in the publishing world. I have never met a bookseller or a bookstore owner who doesn’t want to talk to me or doesn’t want to help. That part has been amazing. I could not have done this without a handful of people who have either already opened a bookstore or are opening a bookstore at the same time, and we are sharing tips all the time.

This interview has been edited and condensed.