Around Indies

Third Place Books’ New Location Nears Debut

The Seattle Times recently took a look at the progress being made on Third Place Books’ third location, which is set to open this spring in the Seattle neighborhood of Seward Park.

In tune with owner Ron Sher’s philosophy that bookstores should serve as places for gathering, eating, socializing, and reading, the 7,000-square-foot shop will feature the restaurant Raconteur, an espresso bar, a full bar, and an event space for up to 100 people.

The store will stock about 50,000 books, half new and half used, and will have a separate children’s section.

“Being multigenerational is important to our success. Everyone in the household should like to be there,” said Robert Sindelar, managing partner of Third Place Books. “This is an incredible opportunity. Here’s a chance to grow a reading public.”

The Book Haven Celebrates Grand Opening

Prescott Valley, Arizona’s The Book Haven held a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting on February 8, after its original opening date of February 1 was disrupted by a snowstorm.

Earlier this year, the used bookstore Paperback City closed and reopened in a new location as The Book Haven, still under the ownership of Leigh Simmons-Skellenger.

The store’s new 2,500-square-foot space in a shopping plaza that houses a local brewing company is also home to two bookstore cats, Vinnie and Isis.

“We’re really excited about this opportunity — especially the opportunity to display some of the really cool books we’re forced to keep in storage due to lack of space in our current location,” Simmons-Skellenger shared on Facebook prior to the move.

New Owners Bring Changes to Southampton Books

Last year, former BookHampton employees Daniel Hirsch and Gregory Harris purchased the bookstore’s Southampton, New York, location from owner Charline Spektor and rebranded the store as Southampton Books.

Since then, the two owners have brought in new tables and displays and changed up the inventory, including adding rare books to the shelves, reported the Southampton Press. They also plan to begin engaging the community with in-store and offsite events, book clubs, roundtable discussions, and book signings.

“We try to have something for everybody, in the sense that we have the stuff that you’ll find in the other bookstores, but there’s also an air of mystery,” said Hirsch. “You come in here and you’re not certain what you might find on the shelf. We like to have that feeling of hidden gems around the store. So there is something for everybody, from the obscure to the mainstream.”

Spektor said she expects to close on the sale of BookHampton’s East Hampton location to a different owner within a few weeks.

Vroman’s Welcomes Next Chapter Coffee Shop

Next Chapter coffee shop is replacing Zeli Coffee Bar, which closed in December, in the front of Vroman’s Bookstore on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, reported the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

The coffee shop, which opened this week, occupies 1,000 square feet of Vroman’s 31,000-square-foot building and is accessible through Vroman’s and from a separate entrance.

“We were looking for a new tenant in our building and we completely fell in love with everything they do,” said Allison Hill, president and CEO of Vroman’s and West Hollywood’s Book Soup. “This will create a great synergy.”

Next Chapter owner Chuck Jones said, “We’ve had a lot of opportunities to expand but Vroman’s seemed like the natural choice because they are as much of an institution in the community as we are.”

World Eye Bookshop Owner Buys Local Toy Store

World Eye Bookshop owner Jessica Mullins has purchased nearby independent toy store Magical Child, which closed on February 5 after months on the market, reported Greenfield, Massachusetts’ Recorder.

Mullins is tentatively planning to reopen the store under the same name on March 1. While she doesn’t have major changes in mind, Mullins does plan to order some new products, add larger sizes to its children’s clothing consignment business, and hire two new employees.

“I don’t want empty stores downtown and it’s really important to me to have variety and choice,” she said. “There isn’t going to be tons of money pouring in or anything, but I’m really hopeful that the downtown is going to survive. It will be nice to have a couple more jobs going, different things happening on Main Street.”

Last May, World Eye held a campaign to sell $15,000 worth of merchandise to keep the store afloat, and Mullins said the bookstore is still struggling. She added that the purchase of Magical Child means some of the overhead costs can be spread between the two stores.