A small NC bookstore is ‘flooded with orders’ after late-night shoutout from Tom Hanks

A small North Carolina business says it is “flooded with orders” after being featured on ”The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”

The video, which aired on Feb. 8, gave an overnight boost to Foggy Pine Books, which said it was slammed with a week’s worth of emails and orders within just three hours.

“I started January feeling super anxious and worried about whether or not we were going to be able to survive the winter, which was pretty disheartening after working so hard to survive 2020,” store owner Mary Ruthless said, according to the Watauga Democrat. “This means everything.”

And interest in Foggy Pine Books is still going strong.

Orders are still pouring into the shop after its “The Late Show” debut earlier this month. During the segment, actors Tom Hanks and Sam Elliott gave shout-outs to the business located in the mountain town of Boone.

The two-minute tribute aired after Colbert mentioned the expensive Super Bowl ads that had aired the same weekend.

“These big companies aren’t the ones who need our support the most right now,” Colbert said. “It’s small businesses out there that have been hurt the most in this pandemic.”

So, Colbert said his late-night show decided to give one store its own “high octane” video, complete with a jingle from Hanks and a voiceover from Elliott, McClatchy News previously reported.

When Foggy Pine Books appeared on the show, it had three workers and one volunteer to handle the deluge of requests, according to an email the company sent to customers.

“Our focus is can we keep up to this level of attention,” worker Deion Cooper said at the time, the Watauga Democrat reported. “We’re going to be trying to hire more staff and get more equipped to deal with that so we can keep our level of customer satisfaction and customer service.”

As of Monday, the store had hired two more booksellers and was planning to welcome others on board.

Foggy Pine Books in its email urged patience as it said staff was “working as quickly as possible” to fill orders. Customers are encouraged to call the shop if they want their books within a specific time period.

“We are so incredibly grateful for this opportunity and are overwhelmed with excitement to work with all you new readers,” the shop said on its website. “To be completely honest, it has felt a little bit like winning the lottery.”

Across the country, coronavirus-related restrictions and closures have hit many small businesses hard. As COVID-19 continues to spread, some stores have made adjustments to continue to stay afloat.

While Foggy Pine Books is closed to foot traffic, the store said it’s offering delivery, curbside pick-up and drive-thru options. A representative from the shop didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ requests for comment on Tuesday.