Help Davis Get a Bookstore!

[elfword.livejournal.com]

Davis Square hasn't had a bookstore since McIntyre & Moore moved out almost a year ago. I and a group of others are sharing ideas, connections, and effort to try and bring a bookstore to Davis Square.

If you're a fellow book-lover that'd like to see an indie bookstore (with a sizable used books section) make its home in Davis, you should come to our first meetup, this upcoming Monday (3/22) at 7:00 PM, in Blue Shirt Cafe. We'll have a sign on a table or two announcing who we are.

For more info, or to show someone you think would be interested, please check out: http://bit.ly/davisbookstore

As the site says, two of our top priorities are:

1. Finding a bookstore starter (someone that can open a bookstore, a current bookstore owner that wants to expand or move, or a chain) and convincing them.
2. Helping a bookstore starter get the resources they need to open a bookstore (capital, location, inventory).

If you have any ideas about either of these, please comment!

Comments

[inahandbasket]

I'm going to do my best to tone down my snark here, I apologize if some leaks through anyway.

There's a great independent bookstore in Porter Square doing a great job of new books less than a mile from Davis Sq. They're one of the few book store success stories of the last few years, because if you haven't noticed the local retail book market is getting hammered by the internet.

Mcintyre and Moore is still in operation just a half mile from Davis Square, they're kind of struggling due to low margins and high rents. They couldn't cut it in Davis Sq. due to the rapidly rising rents.

Go patronize these great, local, independent stores.

[yagagriswold.livejournal.com]

Amen to this.

[delahk.livejournal.com]

Agreed!

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

+1

[elfword.livejournal.com]

No worries about any snark, it's a great point. Porter Square Books is a nifty bookstore that I stop by regularly when I shop at Shaws.

But there's a significant number of people in the West Somerville / West Medford / Tufts / Arlington community that tend to just come out to Davis, and no further, the majority of the time. There's nothing wrong with having another bookstore that's serving a different market. I feel like that applies to McIntyre & Moore as well, in addition to the fact that they don't carry any new books.

Both bookstores are worthy of patronage, but that doesn't mean a new bookstore that's even closer, with strong ties to the community that started it, isn't a good idea too.

[ocschwar.livejournal.com]

Good idea for whom, though? I've been here 17 year, and I've seen quite a few bookstores close. It's not an easy business to be in. Starting from MIT, there was Quantum Books, then up Mass Ave there was a place by the YMCA, and two other used bookstores near Schernoffs, and another place between Harvard and Porter. Then we got the rents forcing M&M and Pandemonium to move. And in Medford Square, Bestsellers had to close when their building needed repair. The only big openings I've seen are Rodney's and Lorem Ipsum, and they both are here only because they were among the first whofigured out how to do online sales.

Would you bet your own money investing in a bookstore in Davis?

A better idea would be to see if the Diesel will do something truly local and indie, which would be to let the aspiring writers around here sell their zines and reviews on consignment, the way the 1369 is trying right now with the Inman Review.

[ron_newman]

Raven Used Books (in Harvard Square) is opening a second store on upper Newbury Street -- not far from where Avenue Victor Hugo Books used to be.

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

I miss Avenue Victor Hugo terribly...spent so much time there in the mid/late 90s that I can still remember exactly where in its various rooms I had to look to see if they'd gotten anything by my various favorite authors. :(

[marphod.livejournal.com]

Don't forget Wordsworth in Harvard Square. I mourn every time I walk by their former (and mostly still empty) space.

There have also been a lot of closings of rare/specialty book dealers in Harvard.

(OTOH, as I understand it, rent was only part of the reason that Pandemonium moved.)

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

+1.

I am all for letting a hundred flowers bloom, but I am also not eager to cut into Porter Square Books's or McIntyre & Moore's or The Book Rack's business--if another bookstore opens, I will most likely patronize it as well, but I don't see it as a pressing need given those three bookstores (and others).

[ron_newman]

A Hundred Flowers -- now that was a great bookstore (on Pearl Street in Central Square). Since I think you grew up in Cambridge you probably remember it.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Yes, I do! I remember going there before seeing movies at Off the Wall Cinema.

I didn't grow up here, though--I moved here when I was 17. I grew up elsewhere in Massachusetts.

More Bookstores

[silveraeroguy.livejournal.com]

Excepting the new bookstore model, used bookstores like big parties. The more the merrier! Back in the day Harvard Square was the proverbial Charring Cross Road of New England. The more bookstores the more book lovers make that area a destination and a point to search out and browse all of them.

PS- Everybody has so far forgotten to mention Three Geese In Flight, a bit further down Elm Street from Porter towards Somerville Ave and next to the pet shop.

Re: More Bookstores

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

PS- Everybody has so far forgotten to mention Three Geese In Flight

I thought they only sold books about Ireland or something? It's unlikely a general-interest bookstore in Davis Square would affect such a specialized business.

Re: More Bookstores

[silveraeroguy.livejournal.com]

Exactly my point. They're customer's might want to visit/be clued in to other area stores and vice versa. It's the draw of multiple shops that book addicts yearn for.

Please google them and you'll see they have a few other specialty areas not about Ireland or Arthurian legend. Just because they specialize does not mean they don't have any other interesting books.

Less to you and more to everyone, just go check them out, go browse, go talk to the owner, and learn. What you learn makes word of mouth such a powerful tool.

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

What I was going to say.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

This is what I was going to say...Porter Square is not that far from Davis.

Yep.

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

...

[aatish2.livejournal.com]

Maybe the way to think about this is to think of bookstores as restaurants. Just because there's a great Chinese food place doesn't mean you can't open an Ethiopian joint nearby.

McIntyre and Moore tends to focus on academic books and non-fiction. The do an excellent job with those but, for example, their Young Adult and Fiction is lacking, I find. Porter Square is a bookstore for only new books.

What we *do not* have in our community is a good, independent, used bookstore with an eclectic collection. And we should, IMHO.

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

Porter Square Books is almost exactly half a mile from the center for Davis Square. It's not really in Davis, but I wouldn't argue that our community lacks a bookstore.

[elfword.livejournal.com]

It's a half mile that makes a big difference to the West Somerville / West Medford / Tufts / Arlington community that tends to not go farther than Davis.

Our project has talked about seeing if Porter Square Books would be interested in opening another branch here; I'd be willing to help them do the work to see if it would make enough money to be worthwhile.

[visage.livejournal.com]

It's a half mile that makes a big difference to the West Somerville / West Medford / Tufts / Arlington community that tends to not go farther than Davis.

To me, that suggests that you don't want a bookstore in Davis Square, but one closer to the center of gravity of the people who wouldn't go as far as Porter for a bookstore.

[elfword.livejournal.com]

Geographic center doesn't matter as much as business activity center, though. Davis is the place where all the coffee shops, restaurants, and shops are. It's the nexus of subway and bus activity.

[mimiambic.livejournal.com]

Mmn. I also agree that you may want to look into a bookstore near Tufts/Medford/Arlington etc. Personally, I used to go to Davis for the library branch and Porter Square Books to buy new. (I live near Central now and still trek to PSB to buy my books. I love it deeply.)

And don't forget the commuter rail stop at Porter -- the Somerville public transportation nexus is a little wider than Davis proper.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I live in Arlington, and am increasingly pleased with The Book Rack in Arlington Center. They have a good range of used fiction (though nothing remotely academic), and they're expanding into more new books, local-interest stuff, and kids' books. They have a bit less formal literary focus than Porter Square Books, but they're also cheaper (even for new books, I think), and similarly friendly. There's no in-store coffeehouse, but they're almost next to Starbucks and don't mind if you bring in a cup.

I very much want both Porter Square Books and The Book Rack to thrive. Go check them out! The 77, 80, and 87 buses all go to Arlington Center, though I like to walk on a nice day like this. (Probably best to take the bus home, when you'll be carrying books.)

[fefie.livejournal.com]

Not to mention there is a Red Line stop at Porter Sq too.

I'm a satisfied customer of Porter Sq Books -- and it was wonderful that opened shortly after the demise of Wordsworth. (I too mourn the Wordsworth space each time I walk by it.) Porter Sq Books has done a great job with its author reading series (featuring Somerville and Cambridge authors).

Having seen several bookstores come and go in Davis Sq. over the past 25 years in more bookstore-friendly times, I'm not keen on seeing a new bookstore try and cut into Porter Square Books' business.

(Ron et al, I remember 100 Flowers bookstore (and Off-the Wall Cinema) too. That was a more indie-friendly, pre-Amazon era. There were 3 bookstores in Davis Sq. back then as I recall.)

[ron_newman]

But a half mile is a 10-minute walk, at most. Perhaps Porter Square Books needs to market itself more effectively to the region you are talking about. But I'd rather have one healthy bookstore in Porter Square than two marginal ones barely scraping by to compete with each other.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

It's a half mile that makes a big difference to the West Somerville / West Medford / Tufts / Arlington community that tends to not go farther than Davis.

That's kind of their problem then, isn't it? If they want books, they'll have to go a little farther. When I lived in Porter and Porter Square Books was a clothing store, I went a mile to Harvard Square to buy books at WordsWorth. I never saw that as any kind of hardship...if I wanted a book, that's where the books were. So I dealt with it.

There isn't a hardware store, a supermarket, a pet supplies store, an Apple Store, or a City Sports in Davis Square, and yet, people manage.

Bringing in a bookstore...

[anu3bis.livejournal.com]

If you want to own said bookstore, go for it.
If not, you'll have to build one heck of a business case for it, considering the number of local rivals, the fact that one just went out of business in a nearby location, and the new parking regulations. One of my best friends owns a small, indie bookstore, and it's not easy at the best of times.

If you get a candidate, have them talk to the other bookstore owners around, especially the struggling ones, and see if they're still interested.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

The reason M & M moved had an awful lot to do with the astronomical rents that go along with a prime location in Davis. (I seem to remember...) It would help a great deal if someone with property to rent in the square stepped up to offer rents that an establishment like that would find reasonable.

[ron_newman]

Also, M&M's space in Davis Square was much larger than what the business really wanted or needed.

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

Based on the success of the Porter Square Books / Cafe Zing model just a few blocks away and the astronomically high rents in Davis proper, the logical place for a new bookstore is in the back of Diesel Cafe.

[lbmango.livejournal.com]

and have even MORE crowding in Diesel???? NOOOOOO! B-)

[ocschwar.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the Diesel's gotten so crowded nobody goes there anymore.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

er...logic fault. :>

[ursamajor]

Or a Yogi Berra quote. :)

[silveraeroguy.livejournal.com]

I will try to attend this meet-up but, it's at a slightly awkward time for me. Spring is high time for bicycle repair (my side job) so, if I'm late please don't be bitter;)

Peter Coyle
Store Manager
McIntyre & Moore Booksellers, ABAA

[elfword.livejournal.com]

It'd be great to have you Peter!

[silveraeroguy.livejournal.com]

My wife may attend too. She's the production manager for a local publisher, so you'll have the beginnings and ends of a book's spectrum on hand.

How to make a million dollars by operating a book store

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

Step 1: Begin with two million dollars...