S: Shoppe: Ye Olde Bookstores of Mine

I don't know what it is, but I've always been comfortable with a book in my hand. To learn things, to be things, to imagine things. It's always been an important part of my life. Everywhere I'd travel, even when I was young, the trip was never complete unless a visit to the bookstore was part of the itinerary. It was used as a bribe, a reward, an adventure in itself, and I've loved it, loved it then, love it today.

But the platform changed: instead of visiting stores, I decided to create my own. So here's my story of building places of stories.

My first was created 1990 in Rome, Georgia, when I was a professor at Floyd College. I look for spots, and had asked my barber, who's shop was near my home. He said he owned a block of shop spaces, and offered a corner store for $50 per month. It was a cinder block structure, with one bare bulb, no phone, a carpet that was rolled over the ground, no bathroom, and I loved it. I built the wood shelving myself, went to yard sakes and flea markets, loading it with books, any books, just to fill the shelves. They were all used books, some worse for the wear, but they filled the spaces nicely. I picked up lamps to light up the space, a calculator and cash box. I opened the doors, and Chulio Bookbrokers (named after the road I was on) was ready for business. The sign was made of stencil letters and specials were written on a chalkboard. My wife stopped by after her shift at the hospital, to relieve me so I could head home to get a quick bite and hit the bathroom. How much did we make? $1.67! She was sad, thinking we'd have to sell everything, while I was elated, feeling that we'd make even more the next day and next. I was hooked.

We did so well, that we began looking for a spot in town. After visiting several spots, we settled on a quaint shop, christened it Bookbrokers, put in nicer bookshelves, stacked them ten feet high, and filled them with even better quality used books, as well as remainders. We had advertising, I hired help, added background music, a cash register, unique window displays, highlighted stories about place in the local newspaper, and. The store flourished.

Because of its success, we started thinking about moving back home, near family, while plying our trade. I sold the business, with contract, half the stock, and the community goodwill including membership lists. We found a nice spot on Union, near where one of the first used bookstores used to be, and Bookbrokers arrived in Traverse City, Michigan. We added knickknacks, comics, and cards, and even more books. I built larger enforced shelves to hold all of the stock, purchased a counter, reworked and added to the space after gutting it in its entirety to make it book ready. Added comfort with chairs and a couch, and we took off again, expanding the hours, and living on the second floor.

We did so well, the two malls had representatives stop by - the Cherryland offered a large space, $500 per month on a month to month basis - the Grand Traverse offered a slightly smaller space, one year contract, at $1200 per month. We went with the Grand Traverse - why? Because they guaranteed that 50,000 people on average would  see our store per week - we couldn't pass on that opportunity. It was a challenge to open, such as our shelving was struck 4 hours away because of a strike, but we rented a truck, went to the distribution center, and loaded up shelving, staying up late the night before, to add wall shelving, lighting, counters, two cash register, and tons of displays. The store was christened Comic Quest, with a flashy sign, and an overstck of comics, books, movies and cards. We succeeded beyond our wildest dreams, hiring several employees - my favorite memory was having a line of people, I running one register, and my son, who was ten at the time running the other.

As time went on, I sold off most of the stock, and store location, after watching the market implode. I worked for a couple other bookstores: Horizon Books - Traverse City, Horizon Books - Cadillac, and Books-A-Million - Traverse City.

But today, now that I'm retired from teaching, I still look for that next spot to open the doors, hang my sign, and sell my wares....until the next time!