Louisiana sailor saves a Slidell bookstore

SLIDELL, La. (WGNO) — In Slidell, leaving the lights on turned out to be just the latest chapter.

That’s for Andrew Labet.

He was a customer at The Book Sack when he saw a sign of these all too familiar times for independent book stores.

As WGNO Good Morning New Orleans features reporter Bill Wood sees, as well, it’s a For Sale sign.

What happened was that the owners for the last 30 years were ready to sell the place, retire and probably shut it down.

But Labet could not abandon ship.

“It just seemed so over the top but I was like okay lets look at it, see what happens,” said Labet.

It’s a lesson he learned in the Navy. He served as a sailor for almost eight years.

Seeing the world, serving his country and saving his money, he came home to Louisiana and found a place to invest his life savings.

Since he bought the place back in 2024, he’s become like a local librarian. He’s got more than 20,000 titles just waiting to fly off the shelves.

“I love books. Do what you love,” said Labet.

Just like the Navy itself, since 1775, Labet has his own history of fighting for freedom.

It’s on the books and even better, it’s in The Book Sack.

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