Vermont Couple Returns to Bookselling With Phoenix Books

Ready to go! The store the day before opening.

As of October, Essex, Vermont, once again has an independent bookstore -- this one offering alcoholic beverages and tapas-style fare for sale in a cafe setting. Phoenix Books, owned by Renee Reiner and Michael DeSanto, spouses who formerly owned The Book Rack and Children's Pages, celebrated its grand opening on Saturday, November 3.

The celebration attracted scores of customers and friends, who were treated to a 20 percent discount on all books. Also in attendance were many local officials, the store's designers and contractors, and local authors, including Daniel Lusk, who read a poem commemorating the store's opening.

Owner Renee Reiner cuts the ribbon at the grand opening.

Reiner and DeSanto were the owners of The Book Rack and Children's pages, first located in Winooski, Vermont, and then Essex, for 22 years. They sold the store in 2003, but the appeal of bookselling was too strong to resist. Moving into the same shopping center occupied by the Book Rack from 2001 until it closed last March, the two designed a 3,255-square-foot space to fit their new specifications for a bookstore.

DeSanto told BTW that he senses a change in the retail landscape for bookselling. He sees the "existing players," referring to the large chain bookstores, as in a precarious position. "They are as vulnerable to creative, independent bookselling as [independent bookstores] were to them 20 years ago," he maintained.

Owner Michael DeSanto (center) flanked by poets Angela Patten and Daniel Lusk.

Some of the innovations highlighted by DeSanto include the cafe menu: in addition to the customary espresso and biscotti, Phoenix Books serves wine and beer and light fare, such as Vermont artisan cheese plates and vegetable assortments, brought in from a nearby market. The 30-seat cafe provides ample space for events and formal, as well as informal, discussion groups, all of which DeSanto and Reiner plan to feature.

DeSanto said the store was designed to maximize its space. Phoenix Books offers far more titles than The Book Rack did, even though the stores' square-footage is equivalent and Phoenix devotes about 700 square feet to the cafe. "We have covered all of the walls with slatwall panels," said DeSanto. "We can display hundreds of books, face out, that way."

Sales were brisk during the event.

Phoenix Books carries a full line of children's books, but DeSanto also wants to target 40- to 65-year-olds, whom he said are underserved by many bookstores. Plans include author events focusing on issues broader than those in one specific book.

By positioning his store as more upscale, with a contemporary "metro" feel, DeSanto is committed to "winning back some of the [book sales] pie. I don't need the whole pie," he said with a laugh. "I'm just a little mouse." --Nomi Schwartz