Around Indies

Maria’s Bookshop Celebrates 30th Anniversary

Maria’s Bookshop is celebrating 30 years of independent bookselling this week with the Durango, Colorado, community. Specials for the week include a 20 percent discount on “30 Years of Favorites,” an extensive list of bestsellers and staff all-time favorites. The store is also giving away a 30th anniversary commemorative mug with a $30 purchase.

Past and current employees with an artistic talent will have their work displayed in the store throughout the week, and the week will end with a sidewalk celebration on Friday, September 26. Refreshments will be served and free books from a large selection will be given away with all purchases.

Maria’s, which has been owned by Andrea Avantaggio and Peter Schertz since 1998, carries an inventory of nearly 40,000 books in 2,200 square feet of retail space. It sponsors more than 100 active local reading groups, hosts special events throughout the year, helps support many local nonprofit organizations through donations of services and goods, and serves as a venue for dozens of local events each year. 

Broadway Books Finds New Co-owner

The owners of Broadway Books in Portland, Oregon, have accepted an offer for retiring co-owner Roberta Dyer’s share of the business. Sally McPherson plans to continue on as co-owner of the store and Dyer said that she plans to help Broadway Books through the transition and would work occasionally if she were needed.

The bookstore’s September newsletter read: “We have received an offer for Roberta’s share in the business, and we have accepted it! There are still many attorneys, accountants, landlords and others to sit down with, but we’ll be doing all of that as soon as we can and we hope to be able to announce the name of Sally’s new partner by October 1.”

Scuppernong Books Adds New Owners

Scuppernong Books, an independent bookstore and wine bar in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, has brought three partners into its ownership group. Dave and Deb White and Scuppernong employee Kira Larson join Brian Lampkin, Gregory Grieve, and Steve Mitchell in the ownership of the store, which opened earlier this year.

The additional capital will help Scuppernong gear up for the holiday season. “To do this right, and do this well, we’ll need to invest quite a bit of money into our inventory,” Brian Lampkin told the Triad Business Journal. “That’s largely what we’re doing with the new investment.”

Left Bank Books Voted Best Bookstore for 2014

Left Bank Books of St. Louis, Missouri, was voted Best Book Store by the Riverfront Times for 2014.

The Central West End bookstore hosts the busiest reading series in the city and has a knowledgeable and diverse staff, the newspaper said. The business is also engaged with its community and the larger St. Louis region and recently launched the #FergusonReads group, a socially conscious book club that will read and discuss books dealing with race in St. Louis and America.

Left Bank also has a new look: brand-new signage designed by store co-owner Jarek Steele and STL Style.

Literati Bookstore Expands, Adds Coffee Shop

Last Friday, Literati Bookstore of Ann Arbor, Michigan, signed a lease to take over the top floor of its current location on East Washington Street. The bookstore has collaborated in the past with the local coffee shop, The Espresso Bar, which will move into the new space and serve espresso and coffee, as well as some pastries. Literati will also host readings and events upstairs.

The expansion will enable Literati to grow its inventory and add to its science, math, philosophy, and psychology sections. “By partnering with The Espresso Bar, we can afford to open a space that is mutually beneficial: We can have a dedicated events space, improve and expand our inventory, and The Espresso Bar can expand and grow. We can continue to enhance each other’s businesses, and hopefully be a great space for all of Ann Arbor,” Literati Bookstore said on its blog.

King City Books Opens for Business

Kendra Peterson opened King City Books in Mount Vernon, Illinois, on Monday, September 22. The bookstore, located at 104 North Ninth Street, opened just in time for the start of Banned Books Week, which celebrates the importance of the freedom to read. To tie her opening with the event, Peterson set up a display featuring frequently banned classics such as Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood (Vintage Books), Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (Simon & Schuster), Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (Hachette), and others.

“I think every town needs a place that people can come and sit down and talk and have coffee if they want to, and talk about books,” Peterson told the Mount Vernon Register-News. “It’s a third place where it’s not home, it’s not church, it’s someplace in between that you can go and talk about anything, politics, books, whatever, and feel welcome doing it.”