Around Indies

Harbor Books to Open in Sag Harbor

Harbor Books is scheduled to open on Main Street in Sag Harbor, New York, on November 22 in the space previously occupied by BookHampton, the Sag Harbor Express reported. The new store is owned by Taylor Rose Berry, who got her bookstore experience working at BookHampton.

“I was lucky to learn so much from the folks over there,” Berry told the newspaper. “It reaffirmed how much I love the book industry.”

Harbor Books will offer the ambiance of an “old English bookstore,” along with big cozy chairs, free Wi-Fi, and a salon area. Berry also hopes to add a café sometime in the future.

Sag Harbor’s other indie bookstore is Canio’s Books, which is a few blocks south of the downtown area.

An Award-Winning Year at Ye Olde Warwick Book Shoppe

Warwick, New York’s Ye Olde Warwick Book Shoppe, which was honored earlier this year with the Times-Herald Record 2014 Readers’ Choice First Place Award for “Best Book Store” in the Hudson River Valley, this week received the award for “Best Renovation 2014” by the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce at its 75th Anniversary Silver Gala “Rock of Ages.”

In April, the store owned by Thomas G. Roberts and Joseph John Justin, celebrated its second anniversary and an expansion that included the addition of a second floor and a “kiddie korner.”

The store, which offers an inventory of new, used, and rare books as well as collectables and curiosities, is designed in the fashion of an old Victorian bookshop, complete with brass lighting fixtures and green shades to dark-stained bookshelves and beamed ceilings.

Vroman’s Marks 120 Years in Business

Pasadena’s Vroman’s Bookstore, which was established in 1894 by Adam Clark Vroman, is celebrating its 120th anniversary. About the store’s longevity, company president and CEO Allison Hill told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune: “I think we have always stayed true to our core values. Adam Clark Vroman clearly defined those when he founded the store in 1894. He loved the printed word and was a big supporter of community and philanthropy. Those things have always been at our core.”

Vroman’s hosts more than 400 free community events a year, and the Vroman’s Gives Back charitable program has donated more than $634,000 to local nonprofits on behalf of its customers over the years. Diversification has also been a key to the store’s staying afloat, said Hill, noting that 28 percent of Vroman’s total sales come from non-book items.

In addition to its flagship store on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, Vroman’s has a second location in the Hastings Ranch area of the city and two satellite locations at Los Angeles International Airport. Vroman’s also operates West Hollywood’s Book Soup, which was in danger of closing following the death of its owner, Glenn Goldman, in 2009.

Green Toad Has New Owner

After six years as the owner of Green Toad Bookstore in Oneonta, New York, Michele Pondolfino has sold the store to Jim Havener, a customer and friend of the business since its opening. In a note to customers on Green Toad’s Facebook page, Pondolfino called Havener, who combines a background in museum studies with a love of history, a natural fit for the store.

“Jim has great vision for the shop and an appreciation for its current practices,” said Pondolfino, adding that many of the store’s familiar faces will remain on staff.

New Owners, Name, Location for Monkey See, Monkey Read

Monkey See, Monkey Read in Northfield, Minnesota, will be reopening on Saturday, November 15, under a new name, Content Bookstore; with new owners, Nate White and Jessica Peterson White; and in a new location, at 314 Division Street. The Whites finalized their purchase of the store from Jerry Bilek this week, Northfield News reported.

The eight-year-old store, which features new and used books, continues to see new customer growth each year. “I felt pretty lucky that the people of Northfield really stuck with me,” Bilek told the paper. “A bookstore like this really works because it’s in Northfield — a town that reads and buys books.” Bilek will be moving on to a position at the Minnesota Historical Society.

Jessica Peterson White said that she and her husband were committed to keeping a bookstore in Northfield. “People still want a place to browse and learn about new things, where they can be surprised and delighted by literature, and learn new things in their community. [Buying it] seemed like a really important way to contribute to the Division Street economy and continue the community space and a very successful business.”

Three Generations Celebrate Anderson’s 50th Anniversary

Three generations of Andersons gathered at the 50th anniversary party for Naperville, Illinois’ Anderson’s Bookshop last weekend.

Left to right are Katie Anderson, Tres Anderson, Bob Anderson, Pete Anderson, Becky Anderson Wilkins, and in front is Jean Anderson.

Bob and Jean Anderson, the parents of Tres, Becky, and Pete, moved the book section of their Oswald’s Pharmacy (at the time called Paperback Paradise) to its current stand-alone location in 1964. Tres, Becky, and Pete Anderson are now the store’s co-owners. Katie is Tres’ daughter.