South Florida Spellbound by New Bookstore

Dennise Sleeper of Spellbound Books & Gifts in Homestead, Florida, described the store's soft opening on December 21 as "quiet." At the grand opening, however, which took place one month later, the 3,250-square-foot general bookstore was so packed "there was hardly room to turn around."

Homestead -- near the southern-most tip of Florida with a population of approximately 38,000 -- had been without a bookstore for about the past decade, said Sleeper. The closest store was 25 miles away. So throughout the grand opening, the common refrain was, "We finally have a bookstore. It's about time." Spellbound celebrated their opening with three story hours, face painting, an author event with Leon Hesser (The Man Who Fed the World, Durban House), cheese and wine, and a ribbon cutting.

To build community ties quickly, as well as encourage young readers, Sleeper has scheduled myriad store events, including an upcoming Mardi Gras fundraiser for a local school, author readings, and six story hours a week. Sleeper also designed the children's area to be "really inviting" with a 150-gallon saltwater aquarium filled with anemones, starfish, shrimp, clownfish, angelfish, and wrasses.

The 5,000-title general bookstore has strong sections of children's literature, fiction, history, true crime, mystery, sci-fi, Christian titles, and graphic novels. To serve the population of Homestead, which is 51 percent Latino, there is a Spanish-speaking bookseller on staff, and the store is developing its Spanish-language books section.

Spellbound devotes about 25 to 30 percent of their business to sidelines. "Most of our stuff is handmade by somebody somewhere," said Sleeper, who sells locals' artwork on consignment. The store is close to the ocean, so nautical gifts sell well. "One of the best is our Sailor's Valentines," she said. "When the sailors were at port nearing their return to home they would often commission the local people to make shell designs for their wives and/or sweethearts. These later became know as Sailor's Valentines." Sleeper's source for these is Authentic Models of Oregon.

To simplify having a cafe, which the landlord has stipulated they cannot build, Spellbound has vending machines for both snacks and coffee maintained by Gourmet Butler, along with tables and chairs. The cafe area also has three computers available for a fee and free wireless.

"We are just excited to be a part of the historic downtown and intend to be their hometown bookstore," said Sleeper. "So many have remarked on how excited they were to finally have a bookstore of their own." --Karen Schechner