Bookstores' Grand Openings Steeped in Magic

The new Square Books Jr.

Two new bookstores decided to catch a ride on Harry Potter's cloak tails and scheduled grand opening celebrations during the Order of the Phoenix book launch. Friday and Saturday, June 20 - 21, seemed the perfect time for the Napa Book Tree in Napa, California, to celebrate after a soft November opening, and for Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi, to spin off its Square Books Jr., a specialty children's store.

At Napa Book Tree, a Potter party capped off a day filled with an official Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting and six author appearances. In Oxford, Square Books successfully pulled off a "stealth opening" of Square Books Jr., at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday. "There was so much excitement about Harry Potter," Square Books general manager Lyn Roberts told BTW. "We took advantage of the situation to get the word out quickly and get people into the new store."

Outside the Napa Book Tree, co-owner Cynthia Crawford (r.) speaks with volunteer friends B.J. and Henry Haggland.

Throughout the day on Friday, Napa Book Tree held its first scheduled in-store author appearances. The line-up included novelist D.J. Connaughton (Incident at Cali Station, iUniverse); entertainment author Denise Schubert (Adventures in Dining Napa Valley 2003, Grapevine Press); illustrator Frank Ansley (Wool Gathering, Atheneum); children's author and writing instructor Liz Koehler-Pentacoff (The ABC's of Writing for Children, Quill Driver, and Louise the One and Only, Troll); children's author Penny Warner (Mystery of the Haunted Cave, Meadowbrook, and dozens of other titles); and Napa's own Hillary Homzie, author of the series Alien Clones From Outer Space (Aladdin).

At 6:00 p.m. the store closed, and then reopened at 11:00 p.m. as "Platform 9-3/4," referring to the station entrance visible to wizards only for the train to Hogwarts, Potter's prep school for wizardry. With 850-square-feet of selling space and a crowd of 130 revelers, Napa Book Tree may have more resembled a packed train platform than a general bookstore.

A few of the many wizards at the Napa Book Tree party.

Butterbeer flowed freely, prizes were awarded, and just before midnight, a costumed Hermione directed people to form a circle around a stack of books hidden under a cloth tied to helium balloons. Hagrid led the chanting of the spell to make things fly, 'Wingardium Leviosa,' and the balloons lifted the cloth off the books at the stroke of midnight.

"The book's release is the major publishing event of the year, and we wanted to make it as fun as possible," said co-owner Terry McGowan, who owns the store with his wife, Cynthia Crawford. Crawford said that their goal is "to be an integral part of the community and have everyone feel at home in our store. One of the ways to do that was to invite all of our new friends to a party."

A little wizard at the opening party at the new Square Books Jr.

The store devotes about 30 percent of its shelf space to children's books, and its owners hope to work closely with local schools and to become a true community resource.

McGowan and Crawford were very pleased with reception. McGowan told BTW, "We didn't really have any idea how [the grand opening] would be. The next day, a cashier gave me an anonymous message from someone. It read, 'I just wanted to come by and say thank you for last night.'"

Square Books, located on the south side of the town square surrounding Oxford's courthouse, has long been a community fixture. Owner Richard Howorth, now mayor of the town, has been involved in many of the town's concerns. Over the store's 24-year history, he has spoken frequently about the need for a separate children's store, and when the opportunity arose, he and his staff acted extremely quickly, explained Roberts.

Patrons line up on the town square in in Oxford, Mississippi, for Square Books Jr.'s 7:00 a.m. opening.

As Roberts told BTW, the space vacated by the Oxford Tourism Council on the east side of the Square, was "finally a piece of property that was a perfect place for a children's bookstore. The space became available on May 28, and Richard decided to buy it. We hadn't made any plans, and then ran off to BEA in Los Angeles." In the few weeks between BEA and the store's opening, Roberts, Square Jr.'s manager Katie Snodgrass, and the rest of the staff quietly prepared the 2,000-square-foot space for the new store.

Square Books publicized a 7:00 a.m. opening on Saturday, June 21, to distribute Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Customers were encouraged to come in pajamas and receive a 20 percent discount. As patrons in pajamas arrived at the store, they found the place boarded up, apparently closed by order of the evil Lord Voldemort. Maps leading to the book were given out with clues to various places on the Square, all with new names related to the Potter series. For example, the alley named for the most significant literary figure in Oxford up until then, changed from Faulkner Alley to Diagon Alley. The search ended at Square Books Jr., DBA Flourish and Botts for one day only. All 200 copies of HPV were sold within the first two-and-a-half hours on Saturday morning.

An avid Potter fan enjoying the Kids' Room at the new Square Books Jr.

Roberts told BTW, "We want the new store to have staff with special expertise in children's literature. That staff can work more with schools and outreach programs…. There is a second room at the new store which could be fixed up for birthday parties, meeting space, book groups, or even [here Roberts hesitated] a kids' café." --Nomi Schwartz