Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together

"Among the three of us, we have over 50 years of bookselling experience," said Lynne Almeida of Spellbinder of Bishop Books & Coffee, as she addressed the benefits of the recent merger of her bookstore, Spellbinder Books & Coffee, with Bishop Books & Coffee, which took place this past June. Almeida and her business partner, Gail Albutt, joined forces with Bishop Books' Ginnie Traver, combining inventories, experience, resources, and their vested interests, while hoping to leave behind the 80-hour workweek. The stores are located in Bishop, California, a town with a population of 4,000.

The idea to merge the small, general bookstores came from a moment of seeming collective unconscious. "Gail and I had been knocking around the idea of looking for a third partner," Almeida said. "We decided to take Ginnie out to dinner and float the idea. She said that she'd been thinking of the same thing. This way we're no longer paying two sets of rent, utilities, etc."

Deciding which store to move was easy. The 33-year-old Spellbinder Books had moved four times, each time increasing its square footage. The store is now in a 2,500-square-foot space at the busiest intersection of Bishop, as opposed to the 1,000 square feet of Bishop Books & Coffee. And since Bishop Books was opened six years ago, Almeida said they had "nicer, newer fixtures and newer computers to replace the ones in Spellbinder."

The bookselling triumvirate did hire a lawyer to help sort out the transition, but Almeida said, "he explained how to set up [the contracts] ourselves. It wasn't hugely complicated."

Initially, a few customers were concerned that Spellbinder had gobbled up the competition. Other than that, Almeida said she couldn't think of any drawbacks to the partnership, though it helps to "be flexible and not feel a sense of ownership over certain things," said Almeida. "It also helps to come to decisions as a group."

Despite the book-business experience of three owners, Almeida, who had previously worked at Stamford University's bookstore, talked about the difficulty of buying for a small store. "When I was a buyer at Stamford, I wasn't also the janitor," she said while laughing.

Part of the challenge of purchasing for the store is trying to determine the reading tastes of Bishop, whose residents include "everyone from cowboys to scientists." Almeida added, "We do a lot of special ordering and cram as much on the shelves as possible. Basically it's a total juggling act."

Almeida also uses Book Sense to help gauge on the buying front. "We keep the Book Sense 76 list up front, so it’s the first thing you see," she said. "Next, you see the Book Sense Bestseller list."

Spellbinder Books, which changed its name to Spellbinder of Bishop Books & Coffee, offers 25 percent off the Book Sense Bestseller list. "The average income here is $10,000 less than the rest of California. So, it's a real incentive to see 25 percent off the first couple of things you see."

Hanging in the store is a large map of the U.S. with colored pin tacks representing Book Sense bookstores. "It took me a really long time to do," said Almeida. "My thumb hurt a lot when I was done.

"The map offers an entryway into a conversation about independent bookstores with customers. Sometimes they ask if we're part of a chain and it allows me to explain that we're not and why we're not." And it allows her to talk about the role of the independent bookstore in the community.

Having three owners means Spellbinder can focus on that community role, which Almeida describes as the "third place," a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg. The "third place," she explained, "is the place where people develop social contacts. People spend their time in two primary places -- home and work -- the third place is the place to socialize, to connect. Now, it's up to bookstores and arts centers to provide that third place.

"We partner with other places, like the Inyo Council for the Arts. Someone will give a talk at the Council and we'll roll our cart over and set up. We make an effort to work with each other and organize in our community. We need that. Who else will do it, but us?" --Karen Schechner