John Poag and Rosemary Tait—partners in both business and life—opened A Second Look Books & Movies on Apr. 28, 1986. Since then, the store has become a local cultural icon and a staple of downtown Kitchener.
“We saw an opening in the market, because there wasn’t a really well curated bookstore in town,” Poag said.
At the time, there were fewer used books stores with less curated collections. When new items came in, they would quickly sell, but the quality of the overall collection was less stable.
“So, our idea was, if that we priced things just a little bit higher, especially when they were good things, that they would keep getting grabbed by people who were just looking for a bargain all the time,” Poag said.
Poag initially went to the University of Western Ontario for psychology, before quitting his graduate studies due to the poor job market—most academic positions were filled with American draft dodgers. He chose to take a year off, before pivoting to bookselling.
Tait, who passed away in 2023, was an integral part of the store. Poag said her love for reading inspired him from the beginning.
“Rosie’s love of reading influenced me from the start. I have vivid memories of her reading stories to me from Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut very early on in our relationship…before we even thought of starting a bookstore,” Poag said.
Tait developed the children’s section and was in charge of bookkeeping and interacting with bureaucracy. Her tenacity was key in keeping A Second Look Books & Movies going through tough times.
Charles Foley joined the team in the mid-2000s. At the time, he was a book scout and Poag said he had a good eye for quality books. Eventually, Poag and Tait hired him when they found themselves in need of some help.
Foley moved to the region in the early 2000s and worked many jobs, including sales, before joining A Second Look Books & Movies. When, in 2024, the store’s lease at the Walper Hotel ended and Poag looked to retire, Foley was a natural successor.
“One thing that’s always been a facet of my life is that I’ve been the kind of person who collected weird bits the stories and information and the bookstore is perfect for that,” he said.
“The bookstore is a Ship of Theseus. So, it always, it always needs repairing…nothing is ever done,” Foley said.
In that spirit, Foley renamed the store to A Second Look Books & More when he took over.
Foley said he learns much from his customers and in his attempts to fulfill their requests. Sometimes, customers come in and ask very personal questions, looking to Foley for a place to begin their quest for answers.
“And of course, my job is to put books in people’s hands, so they will unashamedly ask the most personal use, the most interesting and personal inquiries that it’s fascinating,” he said.
“I’ve been well acquainted now with how vast and deep my ignorance is most things in the world,” he said.
Foley said the store also plays a role in keeping books out of the landfill.
“There is a small bit of goodness of keeping these out of landfill…I’m not saving manuscripts, I don’t pretend to that kind of level,” he said. “But I feel like, even if I’m not reading all of them immediately, I feel like there’s some significance to keeping the books.”
Poag said used books were more difficult to come by when the store first started. At the time, he would get books from remainder houses—remainders of new books that publishers were unable to sell.
“When we first started, I couldn’t even fill the store with used books I had…You go to the remainder house, the warehouse and pick out what looked good,” Poag said.
“I would have given my teeth to have that kind of action when I was starting, and that’s probably how I became such a hoarder, because the books were so difficult to get,” he said.
Since the store opened, the amount of books the average person owns has also increased.
“[O]ver the years, we built up a good collection, and over the years, it became much easier to acquire used books as our generation started collecting and then discarding [books],” Poag said.
The community has also grown and changed over the last few decades. Poag said the community is more diverse, as is the selection of books the store receives.
“It was very, very monoculture when I was first here in the 80s, even then you’re right, it’s, it’s kind of, it gradually increased, and then at a certain point we’ve had almost exponential growth, which is just fine,” he said.
In addition to the growing diversity, the development of the downtown area in recent years has aided in the revitalization of the city. Although many businesses along King St. sit empty, Poag said he sees a good future for the area.
“It’s getting there, but we still have…just a few too many empty shops, but it’s really coming along. And all of the building of the condos along the LRT Line is a fantastic thing. I can see this city becoming a really great city in maybe five or 10 years. It’s getting there,” he said.
A Second Look Books & More has grown into a staple of downtown Kitchener in the last 40 years. Despite its current success, the team has faced adversity in the past. Poag said Tait was integral to maintaining the store through difficult times.
“Even during some tough years, Rosie never once suggested giving up and did everything she could to keep us going. She was always supportive of staff with boundless compassion, even helping them with personal issues when they arose,” Poag said.
“She is missed every day,” he said.
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