North Carolina Bookstore Turns 20

Keebe Fitch of McIntyre's Fine Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina, this week invited the community to celebrate two decades of independent bookselling with cake and an all-day, 20-percent off sale. "The McIntyre's Anniversary party was a simple open house for a couple of hours on Monday, April 20, the actual anniversary of our opening in 1989," said store manager Jamie Fiocco. "We had over 60 friends of the bookstore stop by and share a glass of wine and a piece of the fantastic three-volume book cake.... It was a festive affair as everyone kept walking in the doors exclaiming 'happy birthday' and the staff were actually all in the store at the same time, everyone snapping pictures and sharing stories."

McIntyre's is part of the Fearrington Village center, which includes the Fearrington House Country Inn, Fearrington House Restaurant, and other shops, developed by Fitch's father, R.B. Fitch, and owned by the Fitch family. The bookstore was added when Keebe Fitch, who'd been a bookseller in college, was weighing her career options. She explained the bookstore's origins in a letter to customers, "As usual, my best and most favored advisor, my father, R.B. Fitch, came to my rescue by suggesting we open a small bookshop in the Fearrington Village Center as he always enjoyed popping into them when traveling."

Fitch cited McIntyre's staff for creating the kind of bookstore atmosphere and selection that Pittsboro residents love. "Our staff booksellers are wonderfully committed to the community here, and I am very proud of their efforts to help our customers. I credit Jamie Fiocco, the manager at McIntyre's, for doing such a wonderful job of melding everyone into such a solid team. They go the extra mile to help people even outside of the confines of bookstore."

The bookstore, in a 4,000-square-foot Cape Cod style building, has a number of rooms to house its sections -- one room features nothing but mysteries, and the literature room features a giant fireplace. From the business' earliest stages, Fitch placed strong emphasis on hosting author readings. McIntyre's has two venues for events: The Barn, a renovated dairy barn with room for 600 people and the Reading Room, which accommodates 50 people. The shop hosts roughly 30 reading groups' selections and a midweek preschool story time. Visiting authors have included Khaled Hosseini, Amy Tan, Cokie Roberts, Haven Kimmel, and George Pelecanos.

The best part about the party was chatting with the store's loyal fanbase, said Fiocco. "I especially enjoyed hearing from regular customers how much the bookstore meant to them and their daily lives," she said. "More than once I was told someone actually bought their house in Fearrington Village because it had an independent bookstore at the center of the village. Fearrington Village has a lot of retired folks who have relocated from other parts of the country, and sometimes they lament moving away from their old favorite independent bookstores, but they are welcomed into the McIntyre's family and we are all the richer for such good friends and readers."

For Fitch, the anniversary was a time to look back at the past two decades rather than just host a neighborhood party. "I would say that the ride has been bittersweet. Looking back, I would have to say I really appreciate the time that was spent growing the business and the relationships that fed us. So many people who started out with us on this journey are no longer around: customers, authors, reps. We have been very fortunate to continue to have good traffic and host good events to keep moving forward." --Karen Schechner