BOOKSTORES ARE SEEING A REBIRTH DURING PANDEMIC
CARMEL >> One is an artist and interior designer from Chicago. The other owned a bookstore in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Jane Pakis and Maria Roden left the city life for Carmel Valley a few years ago. Yet, the itch to reopen a business and combine their professions and energy lingered.
Feeling there was a need, the two retired businesswomen opened up Olivia & Daisy in Carmel Valley Village, a new book boutique store that is geared to book enthusiasts of all kinds.
“It’s not just books,” Pakis said. “We have coordinated gifts in each section, like utensils in the cookbook section or gloves in the garden section. It’s a combination of our talents. People still like to read books.”
While bookstores across the country have slowly evaporated, those that remain in Monterey County have seen an uptick in demand during the pandemic — once they were allowed to reopen.
More young people buying
Trish Triumpho-Sullivan, owner of Downtown Book and Sound in Salinas, has seen a sizeable increase in book sales since reopening — particularly from teenagers and young adults.
“I often hear the comment, ‘What a shame young people don’t read anymore,’ ” Triumpho-Sullivan said. “I tell them, ‘You are mistaken.’ We are seeing more young people coming in.”
Having moved into a historic 1860s building in Oldtown Salinas before the pandemic, Triumpho-Sullivan believes there would have been more of a demand for books when the store reopened had Main Street not been torn up for construction.
Books sales, though, have continued to climb as customers of all ages look for alternatives to keep their minds sharp other than reading their text messages or Facebook posts on their cellphones.
“The hardest part when we reopened was telling our customers you can park in the back,” Triumpho-Sullivan said. “People, who have lived here their entire lives didn’t know we had a rear entrance in Oldtown.”
Back in business
Not all bookstores reopened when approved by the state last summer. Old Capitol Books in Monterey chose to remain closed for 13 months for safety measures, before moving a few blocks to 282 Alvarado St. and reopening Thursday.
“The plan was to always reopen,” said Stephanie Spoto, who runs the bookstore with her husband. “We
decided to remain closed until we felt it was safe to reopen. Here we are. It’s a little smaller but I think it fits us perfectly.”
Spoto said one consideration before this space became available was running a mobile bookstore. Before the pandemic, sales were going well for books. But Old Capitol Books also hosted events before closing, like poetry and art.
“People were asking, ‘When are you coming back?’ ” Spoto said. “We’re just being a little more cautious. We had a nice walkup on Thursday. We do want to bring our events back as well.”
Kids books remain popular
The children’s section for books remains a hot spot at River House Books at the Crossroads shopping center in Carmel, where kids of all ages have continued to express an interest in reading books.
Even when taking phone orders after the store was forced to close its doors for a few months last March, assistant manager Susan Passey said requests were coming in regularly for books and magazines.
“Our children’s section is always busy,” Passey said. “But we have a nice mix of tourists, locals, elderly and regulars that shop for books and other items. We offer complimentary wrapping, so people can take care of everything at once.”
Offering more than books
Most bookstores do offer more than just books. And Olivia & Daisy is no different. However, books seem to be the drawing card for customers that come in and browse.
“If you’re a book person that loves books, you can still find bookstores,” Roden said. “One of the comments we hear is we are so thrilled to have a bookstore back in the village again.”
The urge to open another bookstore for Roden increased after talking with Pakis, who lives in the same neighborhood. The pair decided to combine their talents.
“Jane actually helped in designing our house,” Roden said. “I missed having a bookstore. I didn’t want the size of a store I had in the Bay Area (Orinda Books). But I still wanted to provide books that I loved myself. Jane’s art only enhances our store.”
Open for nearly three weeks, Olivia & Daisy is a store that has kid’s picture books and board blocks, along with cooking, gardening and design books. Mixed in with them are gift ideas that go along with the books in each section.
“We’re not a bookstore in a regular sense,” Roden said. “There are themes for each section. We have lovely cards and rows of Jane’s artwork. No grandparent can resist buying books for their grandchildren. It’s pleasing to come in, even just to browse. If we don’t have it, we can order it.”
Paperback fiction books include novels with an international flavor from Europe. The book and boutique store, which opened on March 24, is open Wednesday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We can always expand if there is a demand, which we hope there will be once word gets around,” Roden said. “We’ve done better than expected. The village is starting to get very busy again.”