Martin House Books owner takes a page from her mother’s book
WESTERLY — For her next chapter, Westerly resident Gretchen Miller is taking a page from her mother’s book.
Miller, who grew up in her mother’s Massachusetts bookstore, is the new proprietor of Martin House Books on Canal Street in Westerly, which will officially open at the end of the month.
The shop — which occupies the space that once housed Savoy Bookshop & Café — opened quietly one afternoon last week and has been non-stop busy ever since.
“It wasn’t planned this way,” said Miller with a small laugh last Friday afternoon as she sat a small, round table at the back of her store which was buzzing with customers popping in and and out and browsing upstairs and down. “There’s still lots to put together.”
Miller, 46, said she’d been planning for her official opening on April 27 — to coincide with Independent Bookstore Day — but after that one little “soft opening” and with the help of social media, the cat hopped right out of the bag.
“Someone put something on Instagram and the next thing you know,” she said with another laugh and the wave of an arm. “But it’s awesome.”
“It’s awesome to see so many people so excited about a bookstore,” said the married mother of two teenage sons, Jackson, 16 and Tyler, 14. “And this is such a wonderful community.”
“Everyone who walks in here is thrilled,” put in Kaleeny Cannon, one of Miller’s five “colleagues” who works as a bookseller at Martin House Books. “They’re all smiling and happy.”
Miller said that not long after Savoy Bookshop & Café closed unexpectedly, she contacted the owner of the building and expressed her interest in re-opening a book store in the space, which has remained vacant since July of 2023.
Miller, who worked for several years at Savoy — and also as a librarian in the Children’s Room at the Westerly Library — said she wants people — all people — to feel welcome in her book shop. She plans to work with local schools, libraries, book groups and other organizations, she said, and make her space available for baby showers and private events when the store is closed.
“I am thrilled to open the doors and become a part of the vibrant arts community here in Westerly,” Miller said in a statement issued earlier in the day. “Our goal is to cultivate a space where the community can discover new stories, connect with fellow book enthusiasts, and immerse themselves in the magic of literature.”
She intends to make Martin House Books a “perfect destination for book lovers of all ages,” she said.
“I really want for this to become a community hub,” she said, “... more than just a place to buy books but a place where readers can gather, connect over a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and explore the wonders of literature.”
For the wine and coffee piece, Miller contacted business owner Brittany Fox, who owns Queen of Cups coffee shop in Narragansett and will run as Café 1888 within the bookstore.
Miller said she is “thrilled” that Fox agreed to join the team.
Fox, who serves coffees and teas from Newport-based Empire Tea and Coffee, said she plans to serve lunches as well as specialty coffees and teas.
“We’re really leaning into lunch,” said Fox, who lives in Charlestown. “Soups and salads ... so people can come in and work on their computers, have lunch and feel at home.”
Fox, who keeps separate toasters for gluten-free customers at both stores, said in addition to soups, salads and baked goods, she always tries to offer gluten-free bagels as well.
Fox said she’s delighted to be in Westerly, is very happy with all the pre-opening business, and is very happy with her “Square” point of sale system. It makes it so simple for customers to make purchases, she said, especially once they’re in the system.
Although Miller has only made minor changes and renovations inside the space at 10 Canal St. — there’s a new, long counter in the back of the shop near the café, and several tables and chairs lined up in front of the large picture window in the front — the space feels larger and brighter.
“That’s what everyone is saying,” she said, “but I really only realigned the bookshelves.”
Miller said she’s particularly proud of the renovation in the downstairs “Children’s Corner,” which has “inviting reading areas and kids’ play spaces.”
She and her husband, Michael, painted a new ship mural on the wall of the children’s area, and she’s added a Lego table and another children’s activity table.
“We opened it up down here too,” she said as she walked by a circular floor rug surrounded by childsized stools with red and white polka dots painted to resemble toadstools.
One of the best parts of running a bookstore, said Miller, is listening to the stories her customers have to tell — about their favorite books and the people they’re buying books for.
Miller said she grew up “understanding first-hand the lively atmosphere and energy a bookstore brings to a community,” working in her mother’s bookstore in her hometown of Easton, Massachusetts.
When the opportunity to create her own store presented itself, she said, she “seized it.”
“She knows the ropes,” said Miller’s mother, Trisha Peterson, who sold her own bookstore, Paperback Junction, after running it for close to 40 years. “I’m sure she’ll be successful.”
Miller asked her mom for advice when ordering some of her books, which, she said, are “carefully curated” with a “wide range of books and genres” that “ensures that there’s something for everyone to enjoy.”
Martin House Books will open its doors officially on Saturday, April 27, said Miller, with a variety of activities and giveaways including the chance to win a gift basket.
In the Children’s Corner, parents and children can “enjoy storytelling sessions and interactive activities designed to ignite young imaginations and foster a love of reading,” she said. The festivities are planned to begin at 11 a.m. with an official ribbon cutting ceremony at 4:30 p.m.
Carly Callahan, the executive director of the United — the bustling arts complex across Canal Street — said the opening of Martin House Books “is a testament to the vibrant spirit of our community.”
“Independent bookstores like Martin House are crucial for nurturing a culture of reading and bringing us together through the love of books,” Callahan said in an email Friday. “It’s a joy to see our neighborhood continue to spring to life with even more ways for our community to congregate – sparking conversations, inspiring readers and strengthening the bonds among us.”
Miller’s mother, Peterson, said she plans to be in Westerly for the official opening of her daughter’s store on April 27, which she noted is the same day as the Ocean Community Chamber of Commerce’s 24th Annual Pawcatuck River Duck Race.
A happy coincidence, she said, because her daughter Gretchen, “has all her ducks in a row.”