Mitchell Books Opens in Fort Wayne

Peter Bobeck, retail real estate developer and owner of Mitchell Books, which opened on July 19 at the Covington Plaza mall in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is serious about making his 22,300-square-foot store an experience like no other. The store, which will celebrate its grand opening on August 27, has been outfitted with a 65-seat screening room; a central performance space; a full-service restaurant with a separate entrance; a coffee bar serving homemade gelati; a demonstration kitchen; a complete, two-level travel section, replete with books, maps, and luggage, located in the bow of a cruise ship; and a stunning children's section, named Sherwood Forest, with a usable castle and tree house.

Speaking to BTW just after the soft opening of the store, Bobeck noted that the cost to build out the space, the equipment, and inventory, totaled over $2 million. When Million Dollar Book Company, which formerly occupied the space closed a year ago, Bobeck tried to lure another bookstore to the mall. When none materialized, Bobeck began to imagine a wonderful bookstore with components that would create a community space, a destination for residents and tourists, "an icon for Fort Wayne," Bobeck said.

Other tenants of Covington Plaza, which was developed by Bobeck's father, Duane, include a luxurious day spa, a gourmet grocery, and a number of restaurants.

Bobeck has assembled an experienced staff at Mitchell Books-- drawing from the former Million Dollar Book Company, area chain bookstores, and for the children's section, incorporating an existing local children's bookstore, Mr. McGregor's Garden. Owners Debbie Stafford and Kim Moppert, after 15 years in their own business, were not averse to closing Mr. McGregor's, transferring their inventory, fixtures, and their staff of 10, to the much larger space at Mitchell, where they are the managers.

"Everybody but me has had very pertinent bookselling experience," Bobeck admitted. After his stint designing pedestrian mini-malls in Las Vegas resorts, he has strong feelings about creating experiential retail plazas. "Unless you are a discounter," he said, "you need to provide a superior experience. The customer experience, over time, is in jeopardy when you are driven by Wall Street analysts who are trying to get earnings up. When a retail business reaches a plateau after a few years, the obvious way to save money is with labor costs. We won't be looking for ways to cut corners, even if things were to slow down. Our goal is to create a place that's a great venue for our community and to continue making it more and more inviting. If we can keep it refreshed, people will return two and three times a week." -- Nomi Schwartz

[For previous BTW coverage of Mitchell Books, click here.]