Fireside Books in Alaska: Good Books, Good Coffee

Whatever the weather outside in Palmer, Alaska, the coffee is always hot inside the five-year-old Fireside Books. And, despite the bookstore's web address --www.goodbooksbadcoffee.com -- Fireside Books sells both good books and good coffee, roasted locally. In a few weeks, according to store co-owner David Cheezem, the 1,500-square-foot store will have more room for the erstwhile coffee pot and bookshelves when it expands to about 2,000 square feet. "Part of that space will be used for a back office," Cheezem said, "and we'll finally have a shipping and receiving area. Our children's section will almost double." He said the store plans to close for "just a day or two" during the expansion.

Cheezem, a Florida native with an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alaska, discovered the town of Palmer and the bookstore business with his spouse, Alaskan-born Melissa Behnke. Cheezem told BTW that Palmer, a town of under 10,000, is growing while maintaining a small town atmosphere. "Some of the stores in our row of buildings are being renovated. They've temporarily moved out, but it's exciting to see the downtown developing."

Palmer is "accessible," said Cheezem, which in Alaska means "on the road system," unlike most of the state, including the state capital, Juneau. It is the site of the enormous Alaska State Fair every fall. But enticing nationally known authors for appearances from the Lower 48 to Palmer is generally futile, according to Cheezem. For Fireside, the lack of bestselling authors has sparked a host of creative ideas to promote books and the bookstore.

In late December 2006, Fireside Books learned that its December 3 event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publication of Allen Ginsberg's legendary book, Howl and Other Poems (City Lights) had won a competition sponsored by City Lights to honor the book reaching the half-century mark. The event, described in an article in the Anchorage Daily News, consisted of a small but diverse and responsive group, with distinctive memories of their first encounter with the poem. Some of these are posted on the store's BookSense.com website.

Fireside frequently features readings by Alaskan authors, and other authorless homegrown events. Scheduled for April is a Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson look-alike contest featuring skits and music, to be held in a community center across the street from Fireside. Cheezem has initiated the store's own "Bad Coffee Lecture Series," with locals leading discussions about their favorite reads.

Harry Potter debut parties have become whole community events, said Cheezem. For each new book in the series, kids have gone from store to store to pick up clues and goodies in the hours before Fireside begins selling the book at midnight.

Fireside heavily promotes the Book Sense Bestsellers Lists, offering discounts for the books on the list. Book Sense Gift cards are very popular at the store for people buying gifts for friends and family in distant places, and for use online.

The store also sells the infamous "Real Alaskan Ugly Coffee," by the cup and the pound. Cheezem explained to BTW that the "bad coffee" really isn't bad at all anymore, it's quite tasty. Although he also said, "Alaskans like to chew their coffee."

"When we first opened, we didn't want to be one of those stores that devotes too much attention to their espresso machine. We wanted to show that we're about great books and great service, not a typical Yuppie cafe with books.

"Our primary goal is to create a thought-provoking environment in the store. That's our focus. Whatever else we do, on our website or elsewhere, we want it to be as quirky as we are in person." --Nomi Schwartz