Downtown Revival, Creative Events Draw Customers to Kicks Mix Bookstore

Downtown Newark, Ohio, is well on its way to becoming the bustling hub of commerce and entertainment it once was, and Kicks Mix Bookstore, which marked its first anniversary on July 7, 2015, is nicely situated at the center of the downtown’s revitalization.

Downtown Newark is primarily made up of independent businesses, and their owners are actively working with the growing Downtown Newark Association to foster the area’s development by hosting regular Final Friday events and bringing in new attractions, such as an open-air farmers’ market, which will soon debut adjacent to Kicks Mix.

“This used to be a thriving downtown where everyone used to shop in the ’50s, but then the malls and the strip stores came in and everything left,” explained Diana Shannon, who owns the bookstore with her partner, Mary Spain. “They’re really trying to bring it back.”

The most recent Final Friday event, held on June 26, featured the “Chocolate Experience”: Shoppers who purchased $15 tickets through the Downtown Newark Association were invited to visit nearly 30 downtown establishments that were giving away chocolate treats, ranging from espressos to donuts, and entertaining customers with activities and music. Kicks Mix employees dressed up as Willy Wonka and Oompa Loompas for the event and handed out candy bars, five of which contained golden tickets that were good for gift certificates to the bookstore.

Downtown Newark’s Final Fridays began this year and are held on the last Friday of each month from April through September. “It’s still growing, but it really gets people in here,” said Shannon. Kicks Mix averages a couple hundred customers during Final Friday events, which run from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. “Sometimes it’s a little overwhelming, but that’s what we want — we want people to know we’re here.”

Shannon and Spain, who have a combined 45 years of experience working with individuals with disabilities, retired a few years ago and opened the Kicks, LLC, day center to offer services to individuals with disabilities. Kicks Mix Bookstore opened 18 months later as a venue to offer employment and on-the-job training to the individuals they worked with at the day center.

“It’s tough for folks to find jobs, and if you have a disability, it’s especially tough in this market,” said Shannon. The bookstore offers a relaxed retail environment in which employees learn problem solving, point-of-sale and inventory systems, how to operate a cash register, stocking and merchandising, and general customer service. “It’s the whole retail experience, beyond just books. It’s how you react or relate to customers, what kind of problems you run into,” she said. “It can give them some marketable skills.”

The bookstore employs, on average, about 10 individuals with disabilities, who cover a variety of shifts and roles. Several employees have gone on to secure employment with other establishments, said Shannon, noting in particular one former employee who now works nearly 40 hours a week at Lowe’s.

The community has been overwhelmingly responsive, both to the bookstore and its staff. “It has been open arms down here. We’ve gotten lots and lots of fantastic feedback from the Downtown Newark Association,” said Shannon, “and also based on the employees we’ve chosen to hire.”

But the shop is first and foremost a bookstore, Shannon stressed, born from her and Mary’s passions for reading. It’s stocked with new and used books for children and adults, as well as used vinyl records, CDs, and DVDs, and unique gift and stationery items. Inventory is acquired through the traditional routes — publishers and wholesalers — but the owners also frequent estate sales and auctions to purchase a variety of media.

Each month, the bookstore hosts a four-hour themed children’s event. For a recent Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland-themed day, employees dressed up as characters from the story and hosted a series of games and activities for children and their parents. These events, too, are growing and continuing to draw new customers.

“I really want to be here for a long time, so I want the kids that are starting school now to continue to come here,” said Shannon. “I want them to be used to coming here, finding and having that passion to read.”

Beyond all of the creative and engaging events and offerings at the bookstore, one of the biggest hits has been Gabby, the bookstore cat. “It’s been great advertising for the store. People come in and ask for the cat,” said Shannon.

Over the past year, Kicks Mix has “had a great response and a lot of connections have been made,” she added. “People know that we’re a new business and we’re trying to thrive, and the type of employment we offer. Like any business, we’re really striving to find our niche. But it’s been a fun year, and it’s gone by very quickly. How nice it is to retire and do something that you love.”