Elm Street Books Marks Successful Year in New Location

This August, Elm Street Books in New Canaan, Connecticut, will mark the first anniversary of its move to its current location. The 1,700-square-foot general bookstore occupied a larger space in a less convenient Elm Street spot for three years before the relocation.

Store manager Kathleen Millard is very pleased with the current venue and the way the store handled the transition. She told BTW, "The response [to the new location] has been excellent. We didn't reduce the number of titles even though the store is half the size."

The latter was accomplished, Millard said, through better front- and backlist buying, resulting in faster moving inventory. She described the process as "honing down our whole system," to make the store more efficient.

The store stocks and sells many hardcover books, and it offers an extensive selection of sidelines, including tabletop items, decorative pieces, picture frames, and CDs. High-end items appeal to the affluent clientele frequenting other Elm Street shops, according to Millard. Antique stores, designer shops, salons, and fine restaurants are all part of the retail mix on the popular street. An interior door connects the bookstore with Rosie Cafe, a gathering place for families and young adults; the two businesses work together frequently.

Elm Street hosts a full schedule of author events, and many of the larger ones are held at the New Canaan Public Library and The New Canaan Nature Center. Among the recent events were a wine tasting and reading with Julia Flynn Siler, author of The House of Mondavi (Doubleday), and appearances by Penny Vincenzi (Sheer Abandon, Doubleday) and R.D. Rosen (A Buffalo in the House, New Press), at the library and the nature center, respectively. According to Millard, the store is moving toward frequent smaller events, such as a series of weekly "evening soirees," beginning in the fall.

Elm Street features the Book Sense Bestseller List, rather than the New York Times list. "Our customers are more in line with the Book Sense list," Millard told BTW. "[The Book Sense Bestsellers] are the books our customers want to buy.

"We always give out the [Book Sense Picks lists], and we have a wide range of people, including kids, who read the galleys and ARCs for us. We do tons of special orders, and we can usually get them overnight." Millard added, "We really know our customers and our service level is great." --Nomi Schwartz