Established Bookstores, New Owners

The media frequently, and falsely, rings the death knell for all independent bookstores every time a store closes, while store openings enjoy far less coverage. Last year alone, 97 new independent bookstores opened, improving upon the previous year's 90 new stores. Equally under-reported, but just as important, are the stores that are changing hands instead of closing, often because a community member or former bookseller purchases the business.

Here's a look at five stores that recently underwent, or are working towards, a change of ownership: Capitola Book Cafe in Capitola, California; Newtonville Books in Newton, Massachusetts; Rosetta Stone Bookstore in Carbondale, Illinois; The Town Book Store in Westfield, New Jersey; and Winchester Book Gallery in Winchester, Virginia.

At Capitola Book Cafe in Capitola, California, four new owners -- Wendy Mayer Lochtefeld, Janet Leimeister, Melinda Powers, and Richard Lange -- took over management of the bookstore from four previous owners -- Marcia Rider, Gwen Marcum, Kathy Kitsuse and Judy Stenovich -- on January 1. The official transference of ownership is slated to take place in about six months. The new guard has all worked in the bookstore and has, collectively, over 40 years of bookselling experience.

Mayer Lochtefeld said she and the other new booksellers knew that the previous owners had been interested in retiring and selling the store, but no deals transpired. "We started thinking about how much we loved this place and wanted to make sure it continued to have a life in the community," she said. The eight booksellers met, and the prospective owners admitted they couldn't "swoop in with deep pockets," but they could make an offer to ensure that Capitola continued.

Capitola Book Cafe, launched in 1980, is 5,300 square feet and about one-fifth of that space is devoted to the cafe. The store carries 65,000 titles, with the greatest concentrations in fiction, politics, foreign language, business, children's literature, and travel.

The new owners have been contemplating "what a 21st-century independent bookstore looks like," said Mayer Lochtefeld. The bookstore of the future, they concluded, still serves the old-fashioned need for a community crossroads. "I don't think the need for human social contact and interaction ever goes away," Lochtefeld said.

To further develop the bookstore as a community center, the group is thinking about adding a seminar space to expand on their author reading series, creating a nonprofit program within the business, and adding gallery space for local artists and artisans.

Despite coping with the installation of a new POS system and suddenly taking the helm, Mayer Lochtefeld reported that the team was doing "pretty well" and expected to invite customers to celebrate the store's new ownership in late spring or early summer.

Mary Cotton, the new owner of Newtonville Books in Newton, Massachusetts, as of February 1, had been formulating plans to open a bookstore throughout her three years as a member of the store staff. Store founder Tim Huggins was even giving advice to Cotton and her husband, Jamie Clarke, about how to do just that. But, this past fall, when Cotton learned that Huggins planned to close Newtonville Books in January, she and her husband immediately changed their tack. Cotton told BTW, "It's a great store that has already established itself. Rather than start a new bookstore, we decided to take over one that already has a great tradition and just needs to be a little reenergized."

The 3,000-square foot general bookstore, which opened in 1998, features a wide array of titles, with special concentrations in fiction, history, Judaica and Eastern religions, classical and Greek literature, biography, poetry, and more. Newtonville maintains a busy author events calendar, a tradition Cotton plans to continue. The store hosts about 100 events a year, including the popular "Beers & Brew" series, with upcoming readings by Daniel Alarcon (Lost City Radio, HarperCollins) and Jodi Picoult (Nineteen Minutes, Atria).

Clarke, who is a writer and founding editor of Post Road, a Boston-based literary magazine, and Cotton, who holds an MFA from the University of Southern Maine, would like to build on the events series and offer writing workshops. The couple also plans to integrate used titles. To further serve the community, every time a customer opts to forgo a bag for a purchase, the bookstore will set aside a nickel to be donated to a local nonprofit organization.

The first two weeks of ownership having been "going well," said Cotton, adding that Huggins has been helpful during the transition. Customers were informed of the change in ownership and have been "incredibly supportive," she said. Newtonville will hold a "Grand Reception" with wine and cheese on March 4.

When Jessica Bradshaw took over 12-year-old Rosetta Stone Bookstore in Carbondale, Illinois, on January 1, it was something of a homecoming. She bought the store from Jessica Becker, who had bought it from a collective that included Bradshaw's parents -- Paula Bradshaw and Rich Whitney. Jessica Bradshaw worked at the store only briefly, during a break from college, when it belonged to her parents, but, she told BTW, she immediately fell in love with it. So, Bradshaw said it was a "natural thing" that she should come to own it.

The 950-square-foot Rosetta Stone maintains rotating art exhibits and is about equally divided between magazines and books. "We've got a pretty good selection of left-leaning political books, a good gender studies and GLBT section, as well as a good fiction section," said Bradshaw, noting the bookstore has "always been a source of information on alternative cultures."

Bradshaw, who's also working part-time at Southern Illinois University, said she is "just getting the hang of things," but her parents and Becker have helped out. Once she becomes better acquainted with all aspects of the business, Bradshaw plans to expand some of the sections, including art and local fiction and nonfiction. To celebrate the new ownership, a ribbon cutting is slated for March 8.

Anne Laird, who worked at The Town Book Store in Westfield, New Jersey, for six years, had no intention of buying a bookstore. But when the store's rent shot up and it looked like the previous owner, Grace Roth, might have to close the bookstore that dates back to the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, she decided to become the sixth owner in the store's history. "I feel fortunate I was able to keep it alive," said Laird. "It's something I didn't think would be a real possibility."

Laird's neighbor Felice Cohen, who owns a historic building across the street from The Town Bookstore's original location, helped make it a possibility. The 1906 building, which once housed Westfield's first library, had been converted into three retail spaces. Cohen offered one of the storefronts to The Town Book Store at a rate that Laird "could live with." Cohen's late husband had been a supporter of small business, as well as a bibliophile, and she wanted to honor his memory, Laird explained. "She feels that it's something her husband would have been happy with."

The new 1,170-square-foot space has wood parquet floors and built-ins with strong sections in fiction, children's literature, and New Jersey-related titles. Although the move left the bookstore with less wall space for its 7,000 titles, it gained enormous windows on three sides and a layout that allows for comfortable leather chairs. "The other place was more utilitarian," Laird said. "People are appreciating the new amenities. Now they spend more time browsing."

On December 26, Laird officially took over the store from Roth, who continues to work there. "Now I get to boss her around," quipped Laird. A Grand Opening celebration was held at the new location on January 6, an unusually warm day. "We had snacks and a raffle," Laird said. "It helped that it was 72 degrees, but we had a blowout day. There's been a phenomenal response. There's an unbelievable level of appreciation. It makes all the hard work and scariness worthwhile."

For Andy and Jen Gyurisin, taking ownership of Winchester Book Gallery in Winchester, Virginia, on December 1 was also a homecoming. Although the couple had been living in Illinois, both had grown up in Winchester and had visited the bookstore often as children. When former owners Allison Major, Annoica Ingram, and Shannon Gemma put the store up for sale, the couple jumped at the chance to work together in their hometown. That the Gyursins were from Winchester and had shopped at the store as children the "made all the difference in the world," to the owners, said Jen Gyursin. "We felt like if we didn't buy it, it would close down for good," she added. "We couldn't let that happen."

The 1,700-square-foot store specializes in local history, particularly pertaining to the Civil War, graphic novels, poetry, and children's literature, which is housed in a loft area of the store. Gyursin, who is working on her Ph.D. in children's literature at Illinois State University, has focused on revamping the children's literature section and building up children's classics as well as small press titles.

The Gyursins plan to install new carpet and bookshelves, and eventually offer coffee. "We're trying to make quick changes," Jen Gyurisin said. "We'll work on bigger projects for the long term." When most of the makeover is complete, probably late spring or summer, the new booksellers will hold an open house. --Karen Schechner

(If you are buying or selling a bookstore, Bookselling This Week would like to hear from you. Please drop us a note at [email protected].)