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Printer-friendly versionBooks Inc. Moves to North Berkeley
On Monday, June 8, Books Inc. celebrated the reopening of its Fourth Street store in a new, larger location: 1491 Shattuck Ave. in North Berkeley, California, the former home of independent bookstore Black Oak Books, Berkeleyside reported. Books Inc. has 11 locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and will open its 12th in Santa Clara next year.
“The response from the public so far has been overwhelmingly positive,” store manager Schyler Baker told Berkeleyside. “Even as we did construction, passersby would stop and pop their heads in to check if we were open yet.”
Baker also noted that the bigger space will allow the store to expand its adult and children’s book sections and its magazine selection. A week of grand opening celebrations will begin on July 21, with author events on tap for each day.
“It’s a good time for bookstores. We still have a lot of vibrant bookstores in the area. I think our opening shows that independent bookstores can still open and operate here,” said Baker.
The Bookstore & Handmade Marketplace Opens in Ohio
On June 1, Melissa Malone opened The Bookstore & Handmade Marketplace in Berea, Ohio, reported the Cleveland Sun News. This is the first bookstore in the town since Little Professor Book Center closed three decades ago.
The shop’s inventory goes beyond bookshelves of fiction, nonfiction, psychology, classics, and poetry to feature handmade gifts and crafts by local artisans, including coffee mugs, fairy gardens, candles, home décor, and baby items.
“You have to have some kind of collaboration to sustain in today’s business world,” Malone told the Cleveland Sun News. “I think art and literature go really well together.”
The bookstore also has a children’s section and reading corner and features local authors and a consignment program for self-published writers.
BookBar Marks Two Years
Denver, Colorado’s BookBar celebrated its second birthday on June 5 with a party featuring tasty samples from the restaurant’s menu and a 20 percent discount on select adult and children’s titles.
“We so appreciate the support we’ve enjoyed from our community and from the book industry and just love that we have become a hub for literary gatherings. Most of all, we love all the books we are selling to people who are reading them!” said owner Nicole Sullivan.
The store has seen substantial sales gains in its second year and is in the midst of expanding. A new, 750-square-foot area will include a children’s room, a family restroom, and a reading room, and an outdoor patio will have an herb garden, to be used by the store’s restaurant. Upstairs, BookBar is turning an apartment into an author bed and breakfast.
Magic Tree Bookstore Changes Hands
Rose Joseph and Iris Yipp have handed the reins of Oak Park, Illinois’ Magic Tree Bookstore to new owner and longtime customer Beth Albrecht, effective May 1.
Joseph and Yipp opened the children’s bookstore 30 years ago and for the past few years have been seeking a buyer to take over. The bookstore will continue to host events, including poetry readings, book clubs, and book signings.
“Beth is energized to lead Magic Tree to great heights in the coming years,” Joseph and Yipp said of Albrecht.
Burry Bookstore To Welcome New Owner
Burry Bookstore owner Emily Burry Phillips has sold the shop to local resident Sandi Brown, with ownership to be finalized later this year. The 43-year-old bookstore in Hartsville, South Carolina, was put on the market five months ago after Phillips took a position with Coker College, the Hartsville Messenger reported. The shop was established by Charles Burry Sr. in 1972 and sold to Phillips in 1994.
In addition to the bookstore’s offerings of reading materials, children’s toys, teacher supplies, and greeting cards, new owner Brown plans to allow customers to buy and trade used books. Brown will also join the Wall of Books franchise, which is based in Georgia, said Phillips.
“Sandi’s vision for the bookstore’s future is innovative and progressive. Not only will customers be able to browse through stacks of books and enjoy a cup of coffee by the fireplace, her goal is for it to become a gathering place for all ages in the community,” said Phillips in an e-mail to customers.
“I am thankful to have had the opportunity to make a difference in the community I love, and I greatly look forward to what the future holds for what is dear to my heart and the place I have called my second home for almost 43 years,” she added.