61 ABA Member Stores Open in 2015; 16 Sold to New Owners

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version

Updated February 23, 2016

The American Booksellers Association welcomed 61 new indie bookstores opening for business in 2015 in 31 states and the District of Columbia. The new stores include a children’s bookstore, a cookbook shop and café, and 16 branches or satellites of existing businesses.

In addition, 16 established ABA member stores were bought by new owners last year.

Former The King’s English bookseller Aaron Cance, who opened The Printed Garden in Sandy, Utah, in December, said his new 2,000-square-foot store, which offers a mix of new books and gently used, out-of-print, and signed and rare titles, has come together nicely.

“Since we opened, we’ve seen a pronounced increase in foot traffic and sales, and have been warmly welcomed by members of the surrounding communities, all of whom are delighted to find that they now have an alternative to the big box experience,” said Cance.

The new store, located in Sandy’s Union Square shopping plaza, whose occupants are predominantly other independently owned businesses, has a grand opening celebration planned for February 20.


Stefani Beddingfield, owner of Tampa, Florida's Inkwood Books, helped her sister Julie (right) set up Inkwood Books in Haddonfield, New Jersey.

In May, attorneys Elena Albamonte and Chuck Faaborg opened Bittersweet Books & Coffee in a renovated 19th century opera house in Americus, Georgia’s historic downtown area. At Bittersweet, shoppers can find new and used books for all interests; browse a wide selection of vintage and new comic books; and indulge in gourmet chocolates, coffee, and desserts at the store’s café.

Albamonte said the store has received 43 five-star reviews on its Facebook page, and she and Faaborg have already made several changes in response to customers’ requests, including the addition of two new book clubs.

“We had our first Classics Book Club meeting in January with Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy, and we’re launching the Victorian Book Club in March,” said Albamonte. “We also held a tea tasting and that has led to hosting a monthly high tea to coincide with the Victorian Book Club meeting.”

Other private and community events Bittersweet has hosted since opening include a poetry slam, multiple book signings, a CD release party, a bridal shower, and children’s birthday parties in the children’s book section.

In June, Julie Beddingfield, the sister of Stefani Beddingfield, who owns Inkwood Books in Tampa, Florida, opened the doors to a second Inkwood Books, this one in Haddonfield, New Jersey. The New Jersey Inkwood, located in a 1,300-square-foot retail space, offers a collection of new, general-interest books with a focus on literary fiction.

“In the eight months since we’ve opened, we’ve started a really vibrant book club and have just added a tween book club that will meet for the first time next week,” said Julie Beddingfield. “Our author events have been well-attended and are growing every month, and we have recently added poetry nights to our lineup.”

Inkwood Books has also worked with a number of schools in the area since opening to provide books for their author visits and book club, and next week the store will co-host its second event — a writer’s workshop — with the Haddonfield Public Library.

Phil Lewis and Linda Foulsham became the new owners of The Bennington Bookshop in Bennington, Vermont, in March, after buying the store from Ellen and Richard Havlak, who were retiring after 35 years. Lewis and Foulsham will celebrate their first year as owners of Vermont’s oldest independent bookstore with a sale on February 27 and 28. 


Linda Foulsham and Phil Lewis bought The Bennington Bookshop in Bennington, Vermont, last March.

So far, the new owners have held events with many of the area’s local writers, in collaboration with the Bennington Free Library, the Bennington Area Visiting Nurses Association and Hospice, and the Oldcastle Theatre. The store has also engaged with local school students by offering gift certificates for reviews of the books they are reading, and instituted a popular monthly Children’s Story Hour series.

“It has been a steep learning curve, but we have had fun along the way. The local community has been incredibly supportive, both of the bookshop and of local authors, many of whom featured in our bestseller list for the year,” Lewis said. “The best thing about having a bookshop is the people we meet. It’s a thrill to watch people lose themselves in books. So many visitors from New York City rave about how special it is to have a neighborhood bookshop and how much they miss having one near their home.” — With reporting by Sydney Jarrard

Here’s a look at the complete list of new stores, branches, and satellites joining the association in 2015:

ABA Member Stores/Branches Opening in 2015*

An Unlikely Story Bookstore & Café
111 South Street
Plainville, MA 02762
(508) 699-0244
anunlikelystory.com

Anderson’s Bookshop
26 South La Grange Road
La Grange, IL 60525
(708) 582-6353
andersonsbookshop.com
(Branch location)

Archestratus Books
160 Huron Street
Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 349-7711
archestrat.us

Badger’s Bookshop
4730 Cooper Avenue
Lincoln, NE 68506
(402) 314-6602
facebook.com/Badgers-Bookshop-432720110249701/

Barefoot Cowgirl
18 North San Francisco Street
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
(928) 440-5041
barefootcowgirlbooks.com

Barrington Books Retold
176 Hillside Road
Garden City Center
Cranston, RI 02920
(401) 432-7222
barringtonbooks.com
(Branch location)

Battle Creek Books
51 Michigan Avenue West, Suite A
Battle Creek, MI 49017
(269) 441-2665
battlecreekbooks.com

Bittersweet Books and Coffee
111 West Forsyth Street
Americus, GA 31709
(703) 220-6541
bittersweetamericus.com

Bodacious Books and Baubles
225 Shaker Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
(413) 726-8267
bodaciousbooksandbaubles.com

Bonjour Mama French Bookstore
3786 Howard Avenue
Kensington, MD 20895
(240) 383-9163
bonjourmama.com
(French-language store)

The Book Store & The Handmade Marketplace
50 Front Street
Berea, OH 44017
(440) 973-7272
thebookstoreinberea.com

Books With a Past at Historic Savage Mill
8600 Foundry Street
Savage, MD 20763
(443) 753-3131
bookswithapast.com
(Branch location)

The Booksellers at Austin Landing
3649 Rigby Road
Dayton, OH 45342
(937) 412-4232
thebooksellersataustinlanding.com
(Branch location)

The Bookworm Box
204 Main Street
Sulphur Springs, TX 75482
(903) 919-5027
thebookwormbox.com

Bound & Loose Leaf
100 Front Street
New Richmond, OH 45157
(513) 520-9709
boundandlooseleaf.com

Compass Books
San Francisco International Airport, Terminal 3
(650) 821-2326
booksinc.net
(Branch location)

Destination Discount Books
1185 U.S. Highway 23 North
Delaware, OH 43015
(740) 362-7711
ddbooks.biz

Doc’s Cabinet of Curiosities
4717 Lowell Avenue
Lincoln, NE 68506
(402) 488-2646

Dog-Eared Books
3004 Old Lebanon Road
Campbellsville, KY 42718
(502) 921-3080
dogearedbooksky.com

Fair Isle Books
(Formerly Islandtime Books & More; new store owned by Deb Wayman)

1885 Detroit Harbor Road
Washington Island, WI 54246
(920) 847-2565
fairisleshop.com

Half Price Books
7631 North MacArthur Boulevard
Irving, TX 75063
(469) 420-9978

1664 Clarkson Road
Chesterfield, MO 63017
(636) 536-3925

630 North McKnight Road
St. Louis, MO 63132
(314) 991-6793

NorthPointe Plaza
100 Meadow Park Avenue
Lewis Center, OH 43035
(740) 548-1290

7975 Greenback Lane, Suite C
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
(916) 722-1101
b.hpb.com
(Branch locations)

Herringbone Books
(Formerly Paulina Springs Books’ Redmond location; new store owned by Kaci Aslamov)
422 SW 6th Street
Redmond, OR 97756
(541) 526-1491
facebook.com/herringbonebooks

Imaginations Bookstore
(443) 281-0179
imaginationsbookstore.com
(Online only)

Inkwood Books
31 Kings Highway East
Haddonfield, NJ 08033
(856) 429-1298
facebook.com/Inkwood-NJ-799784923442180

Island Tales
308 1/2 Marine Avenue
Newport Beach, CA 92662
(949) 873-5184
islandtalesbookshop.com

Itinerant Literate
Charleston, SC
itinerantliteratebooks.com
(Bookmobile and online store)

Legends Bookstore
1350 Sheridan Avenue
Cody, WY 82414
(307) 586-2320
legendsbooks.com

Liberty Bay Books
409 Pacific Avenue
Bremerton, WA 98337
libertybaybooks.com
(Branch location)

Libro.fm
P.O. Box 70525
Seattle, WA 98127
(206) 730-2463
libro.fm
(Online-only audio bookstore)

Lit. on Fire Used Books
929 North Sheridan Road, Suite 1A
Peoria, IL 61606
(309) 634-5383
facebook.com/litonfireusedbooks/

Little City Books
100 Bloomfield Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
(201) 626-7323
littlecitybooks.com

M. Judson Booksellers & Storytellers
130 South Main Street
Greenville, SC 29601
(864) 603-2412
mjudsonbooks.com

Main Street Books
426 Main Street
Lafayette, IN 47901
(765) 464-6794
main-street-books.com

Moravian Book Shop and Gift Gallery
Two City Center
645 West Hamilton Street, Suite 106
Allentown, PA 18101
(888) 661-2888
shop.moravianbookshop.com/index.htm

The Mustard Seed Bookstore
74 Front Street
Bath, ME 04530
(607) 435-3474
themustardseedbookstore.com

My Bilingual Resources
31 47th Street
Weehawken, NJ 07086
(617) 642-5518
mybilingualresources.com
(Online only)

New 2U Books
1654 South Hammen Road
Edgerton, WI 53534
(608) 477-0491

Once Upon a Book
8 City Hall Place
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
(518) 310-1853
facebook.com/onceuponabookllc

One Grand Books
60 Main Street
Narrowsburg, NY 12764
(718) 812-8039
onegrandbooks.com

op.cit. Taos
(Formerly Moby Dickens Bookshop; new store owned by Noemi de Bodisco)
124A Bent Street
Taos, NM 87571
(575) 751-1999
(Branch location)

Open Book Bookstore*
7900 High School Road
Elkins Park, PA 19027
(267) 627-4888

P.J. Boox
13550 Reflections Parkway, Suite 2-203
Fort Myers, FL 33907
(239) 437-3227
pjboox.com

Page 158 Books
(Formerly Storyteller’s Book Store; new store owned by Suzanne and Dave Lucey)
158 South White Street
Wake Forest, NC 27587
(919) 741-9156
page158books.com

Pages Bookshop
19560 Grand River Avenue
Detroit, MI 48223
(313) 473-7342
pagesbkshop.com

Phoenix Books Rutland
2 Center Street, Suite 1
Rutland, VT 05701
(802) 855-8078
phoenixbooks.biz
(Branch location)

Politics & Prose @ Busboys and Poets
2021 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 387-7638

235 Carroll Street NW
Washington, DC 20012
(202) 726-0856
politics-prose.com
(Satellites)

The Printed Garden
9445 South Union Square, Suite A
Sandy, UT 84070
(385) 695-2042
theprintedgarden.com

Scrawl Books
Urban Pop at Reston Station
1904 Reston Station Boulevard
Reston, VA 20190
(703) 966-2111
scrawlbooks.com

Shakespeare & Co.
(Trademark now owned by Dane Neller; new store opened in same location)
939 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10065
(212) 772-3400
shakeandco.com

Southampton Books
(Formerly BookHampton’s Southampton location; new store owned by Daniel Hirsch and Gregory Harris)
16 Hampton Road
Southampton, NY 11968
(631) 283-0270
southampton-books.com

Star Line Books
1467 Market Street, Suite 106
Chattanooga, TN 37402
(615) 519-7339
starlinebooks.com

Title Wave Books, Revised
(Formerly Title Wave Books; new store owned by Leslie Gulley and Liberty Goldstein)
2318 Wisconsin Street NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
(505) 294-9495
titlewavebooks.com

Turn of the Corkscrew
110 North Park Avenue, Floor 1
Rockville Centre, NY 11570
(516) 764-6000
turnofthecorkscrew.com

Village Books Lynden
430 Front Street
Lynden, WA 98264
(360) 671-2626
villagebooks.com
(Branch location)

Walls of Books
3325 Georgia Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20010
​(202) 836-7374
wallsofbooksdc.com

Welcome to the Bookstore
1295 East Bridge Street, Suite 103
Brighton, CO 80601
(303) 921-6508
welcometothebookstore.com

New Owners of Existing Stores (16)

The Bennington Bookshop
New owners: Phil Lewis, Linda Foulsham
467 Main Street
Bennington, VT 05201
(802) 442-5059
benningtonbookshop.com

The Bookman
New owners: Dick Tanis, Sharon Tanis, Alexa McGuiness
715 Washington Avenue
Grand Haven, MI 49417
(616) 846-3520
bookmanbookstore.com

Burry Bookstore
New owner: Sandi Brown
130 West Carolina Ave
Hartsville, SC 29550
(843) 332-2511
burrybookstore.com

E. Shaver, Bookseller
New owner: Jessica Osborne
326 Bull Street
Savannah, GA 31401
(912) 234-7257
eshaverbooks.com

Elysian Fields
New owner: Tolisa Ford
1273 South Tamiami Trail
Sarasota, FL 34239
(941) 361-3006
elysianfieldsonline.com

Explore Booksellers
New owner: Public Interest Network
221 East Main Street
Aspen, CO 81611
(970) 925-5336
explorebooksellers.com

Family Book Shop
New owners: Kaaren & Kerry Johnson
1301 North Woodland Boulevard
DeLand, FL 32720
(386) 736-6501
familybookshopdeland.com

Island Books
New owner: Laurie Raisys
3014 78th Avenue SE
Mercer Island, WA 98040
(206) 232-6920
mercerislandbooks.com

The Magic Tree Bookstore
New owner: Beth Albrecht
141 North Oak Park Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60301
(708) 848-0770
magictreebooks.com

Main Street Books
New owners: Adah Fitzgerald, Marcel Barone, and Mary Barone
126 South Main Street
Davidson, NC 28036
(704) 892-6841
mainstreetbooksdavidson.com

Merritt Books
New owner: Kira Wizner
57 Front Street
Millbrook, NY 12545
(845) 677-5857
facebook.com/merrittbooks

Mystery Lovers Bookshop
New owners: Natalie Sacco and Trevor Thomas
514 Allegheny River Boulevard
Oakmont, PA 15139
(888) 800-6078
mysterylovers.com

The Next Page Bookstore
New owner: Deb Witte
1105 Third Street SE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
(319) 247-2665
facebook.com/nextpagebookstore

Our Town Books
New owner: Andy Mitchell
64 East Central Park Plaza
Jacksonville, IL 62650
(217) 245-2665
ourtownbooks.com

Partners Village Store
New owner: Lydia Sweetser Gollner
865 Main Road
Westport, MA 02790
(508) 636-2572
partnersvillagestore.com

Redbery Books
New owners: Maureen and Brad Palmer
43455 Kavanaugh Road
Cable, WI 54821
(715) 798-5014
redberybooks.com


If your store opened in 2015 or you became the new owner of an existing ABA member store and we did not include you on this list, please let us know. We’ll be happy to update the list and to run an addendum in an upcoming edition of BTW.   

Categories: